A pair of three-day workshops were held in 2008 and 2009, designed for fire managers responsible for communicating and negotiating with state and local air quality regulators. The workshops were organized by the NWCG Smoke Committee, coordinated by the University of Idaho, and featured presentations from several federal, state, and other subject matter experts. This workshops were designed to help participants meet the following objectives:

• Demonstrate familiarity with the current and proposed air quality regulations and smoke management approaches.
• Have a working knowledge of why and how smoke regulations are written at the federal, state, tribal, local levels.
• Recognize the common opportunities and pitfalls in smoke management approaches and regulation and recognize when to ask for either policy or technical assistance.
• Implement basic negotiation and communication strategies, tactics and skills in a regulatory environment.
• Effectively work as a stakeholder in a collaborative air quality group.