ADMINISTRATION

ABOUT THE SOUTHWEST COORDINATING GROUP (SWCG)

The Southwest Area Coordinating Group (SWCG) is comprised of representatives from each of the five Federal land management agencies and the two State land management agencies located within the States of Arizona and New Mexico.

Each member of the SWCG is delegated authority to act on behalf of their respective agencies for the purposes of planning, priority setting, mobilizing and positioning resources, reallocating resources, and implementing all current agency policies, directions and standards for fire and incident management activities. The focus of SWCG is on fire, incident, fuels and smoke management activities in the Southwest Geographic Area, which includes Arizona, New Mexico, and the lands administered by the signatory agencies west of the 100th Meridian in Texas and Oklahoma.

Other fire management goals specified for the group include:

• Providing a cooperative interagency forum seeking consistency in fire and incident management within the Southwest Area.  This includes an emphasis on safety, efficiency and effectiveness.
• Understanding and implementing interagency policy, direction, and coordination to the Zone Management Groups and to the Southwest Coordination Center (SWCC) for fire and incident management activities.

Specific fire management activities of SWCG include:

1. Functioning as necessary as the Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) Group.
2. Coordinating and managing the Southwest interagency Incident Management Teams.
3. Implementing regular revisions of the Southwest Area Mobilization Guide, the SWCG Handbook, the SWCC Operations Guide, the Southwest MAC handbook, the Southwest Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) Operations Guide, and the Southwest Type 2 Crew Guidelines.
4. Maintaining an information system of fire intelligence and predictive services sharing.
5. Developing and training fire and incident management skills in agency personnel.

SWCG Memorandum of Understand

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SWCG MEMBERS

AGENCY	MEMBER	AGENCY	MEMBER
	John Truett Arizona Dept of Forestry and Fire Management 1110 W. Washington Street, Suite 100 Phoenix, AZ  85007		Johnson Benallie Navajo Region P. O. Box 1060 Gallup, NM 87301
	Vernon Muller  New Mexico State Forestry  P.O. Box 1948  Santa Fe, NM  87504		John Cervantes Bureau of Indian Affairs Southwest Regional Office P. O. Box 26567 Albuquerque, NM  87125
	Mike Spilde Vice Chair (2023 - 2025) Bureau of Land Management Arizona State Office 1 North Central Ave Phoenix, AZ  85004-2203		Carlos Nosie Bureau of Indian Affairs Western Regional Office Div. of Forestry, MS-440 P. O. Box 10 Phoenix, AZ  85001
	Craig Goodell Bureau of Land Management New Mexico State Office 301 Dinosaur Trail Santa Fe, NM  87508		Thad Herzberger U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service Southwestern Regional Office 500 Gold Avenue, SW Albuquerque, NM 87103
	Jeff Hickerson Chair (2023 - 2025) National Park Service Intermountain Regional Office - Santa Fe P. O. Box 728 Santa Fe, NM 87504		Jake Nuttall U. S. Forest Service Southwestern Regional Office 333 Broadway Blvd SE Albuquerque, NM  87102
	Kenan Jaycox Southwest Coordination Center 333 Broadway Blvd SE Albuquerque, NM  87102 (Non-Voting)

PAST SWCG CHAIRS

CHAIR	AGENCY	TIME
Kelly Castillo	BLM-AZ	10/2023 - 06/2024
Jake Nuttall	USFS	10/2021 - 09/2023
John Tuett	AZS	10/2019 - 09/2021
Dale Glenmore	BIA-NAA	10/2017 - 09/2019
Loren DeRosear	USFWS	11/2015 - 10/2017
Cal Pino	BIA-SWA	11/2013 - 10/2015
Carl Gossard	BLM-NM	12/2012 - 11/2013
Leon Ben, Jr	BIA-WEA	10/2010 - 11/2012
Donald Griego	NMS	12/2008 - 09/2010
Bob Lineback	NPS	12/2006 - 11/2008
Pam McAlpin	BLM-AZ	01/2005 - 11/2006
Bill Waterbury	USFS	10/2003 - 01/2005
Kirk Rowdabaugh	AZS	10/2001 - 10/2003
Bob Lee	BLM-NM	10/1999 - 10/2001
Frank Smith	NMS	10/1997 - 10/1999
Cliff Chetwin	NPS	10/1995 - 10/1997
Walt Sixkiller	BIA	10/1993 - 10/1995