Taming the Software Chaos: True to its Promise, IFTDSS Eases the Burden of Fuels Treatment Planning - and Does a Lot More Besides

A key problem reported by the fuels treatment planning community is the difficulty and inefficiency of evaluating and then applying many planning tools and applications. Fuels specialists have struggled to find, load, and learn all the different fuels and fire planning models, not to mention the interface of running, adjusting, and inputting data specific to each model without the ability to easily share inputs/outputs between models. The Interagency Fuels Treatment Decision Support System (IFTDSS) was conceived as a way for users to learn one interface, access a variety of data and models all in one place, and pass data (inputs and outputs) easily between models. IFTDSS provides planners with the structure to reuse and share their work products, and it provides a consistent, basic analysis framework for all users. The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) sponsored the design, prototype, early development, and evaluation of IFTDSS beginning in 2008 and continuing through 2013, working closely with fuels managers to ensure that IFTDSS remained focused firmly on proposed user needs and priorities. Those efforts were recently acknowledged when the Wildland Fire Information and Technology Executive Board formally approved IFTDSS on May 30, 2014, for further planning, development, and eventual operational deployment. With continued enhancements, IFTDSS could eventually become an official system of record for federal fuels treatment planning and become available for nonfederal users as well. Periodic progress reports will be available from the IFTDSS website (http://iftdss.sonomatech.com/).