2590 Page 1 of 5 FOREST SERVICE MANUAL WASHINGTON TITLE 2500 - WATERSHED AND AIR MANAGEMENT Amendment No. 2500-90-3 Effective November 5, 1990 POSTING NOTICE. Amendments are numbered consecutively by title and fiscal year. Post by document name. Remove entire document and replace with this amendment. Retain this transmittal as the first page of this document. The last amendment to this Title was Amendment 2500-90-2 to FSM 2550. Superseded New Document Name (Number of Pages) 2590 3 4 Digest: 2590.3 - Adds policies on: (1) complying with standards and procedures for obtaining weather data and (2) on operating remote weather stations. 2590.6 - Establishes code and caption. Adds reference to the Weather Station Handbook - An Interagency Guide for Wildland Managers. F. DALE ROBERTSON Chief WO AMENDMENT 2500-900-3 2590 EFFECTIVE 11/05/90 Page 2 of 4 FSM 2500 - WATERSHED AND AIR MANAGEMENT WO AMENDMENT 2500-90-3 EFFECTIVE 11/5/90 CHAPTER 2590 - WEATHER PROGRAM Contents 2590.2 Objectives 2590.3 Policy 2590.4 Responsibility 2590.4a Director, Watershed and Air Management Staff 2590.4b Regional Foresters, Station Directors, and Area Director 2590.4c Forest Supervisors 2590.6 References 2590.2 - Objectives. WO AMENDMENT 2500-90-3 2590 EFFECTIVE 11/5/90 Pages 3 of 4 2590.2 - 1. To gather and disseminate weather data and climatic information, and provide meteorological expertise in support of Forest Service land and resource management decisions and weather related management activities. 2. To ensure validity, integrity, and utility of weather information provided for Forest Service use. 2590.3 - Policy. 1. Coordinate Forest Service requests for meteorological assistance and related research by Forest Service units of a long-term and/or national scope. 2. Use meteorological data in resource management decisions. 3. Install, operate, and maintain Forest Service weather stations in accordance with standards issued in this chapter and related directives unless those standards would conflict with the primary objective of a station operated for research purposes. 4. Locate year-round Forest Service weather stations to optimize the multidisciplinary needs for real-time weather and climatological data when consistent with the primary objective of the station. 5. Share costs for installing, operating, and maintaining weather stations between or among benefiting functions. 6. Comply with the standards and procedures for obtaining weather data as established through the National Wildfire Coordinating Group in the Weather Station Handbook - An Interagency Guide For Wildland Managers (sec. 2590.6). 7. Operate remote weather stations in compliance with the Memorandum of Agreement between the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Forest Service for the use of the Data Collection System (DCS) to collect environmental data from Data Collection Platforms (DCP's) (FSM 1532.12). 2590.4 - Responsibility. 2590.4a - Director, Watershed and Air Management Staff. The Director, Watershed and Air Management Staff, Washington Office, shall: 1. Coordinate with other departments and representative staffs on requests for meteorological assistance and related research of long-term and/or national scope. 2. Respond to agency requests for weather and climatic information and meteorological expertise. 3. Represent the Forest Service on weather related interagency committees. 4. Coordinate weather data collection activities within the Forest Service and with cooperators. 5. Provide liaison among Regions, Stations, and Area weather program coordinators, Computer Sciences and Telecommunications Staff, and National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS). 6. Maintain a Forest Service Weather Data Library. 7. Develop quality assurance and control procedures and standards for weather data collection and storage. 8. Design, coordinate, and maintain a weather information management system that will meet land and resource management needs of the Forest Service. 2590.4b - Regional Foresters, Station Directors, and Area Director. Each Regional Forester and Station Director and the Area Director shall: 1. Establish formal weather program leadership and management at the Regional/Area level. 2. Ensure that the location of weather stations meets multiple-use management and/or research needs of the Forest Service. 3. Ensure the installation, operation, and maintenance of weather stations in accordance with standards issued in this chapter and related directives when consistent with the primary objective of the station. 4. Maintain Data Platform Files (DPF) where required. 5. Assure the transmission of information on Data Collection Platforms (DCP's) to the National DCP coordinator and National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service within established standards and guidelines. 6. Ensure coordination with the Washington Office, Watershed and Air Management Staff on requests for meteorological assistance and/or concerns that are of a national level interest. 2590.4c - Forest Supervisors. Each Forest Supervisor is responsible for integrating weather information into forest planning and decisionmaking. 2590.6 - References. The Weather Station Handbook - An Interagency Guide For Wildland Managers, produced through the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, provides standards and procedures for obtaining weather data and for operating and maintaining weather stations. (The handbook is available from the Boise Interagency Fire Center as publication NWCG, PMS 426- 1).