Northwest Regional Office HFR and WUI Programs

1. Northwest Regional OfficeHFR and WUI Programs • Fire Planning & Fuels Reduction Efforts • (Discuss Ground Rules for da money) • National Fire Plan Goals: • Fire Suppression • Hazard Fuel Reduction • Community Assistance – RFA • Rehabilitation • Accountability

2. Priorities for Developing Fuels Projects • Develop from collaboration • Prioritize WUI over HFR projects • Within WUI, focus on: • Communities at greatest risk • Communities with CWPPs • Comm. with active partnerships, $share • HFR in CC 2 or 3 in FR I, II & III or CC1 where conditions can quickly deteriorate to a CC2 or 3 • Projects using mechanical treatments, with emphasis on biomass utilization

3. NWRO Budget • 05 Project $ - $7.9 mil. • $2.9 mil. HFR & 5.0 mil. WUI • 1st yr we took a cut in HFR; $1.5 mil. in project funding • 06 Project Projection - $7.9 mil. • Static Budget • Project Requests > Budget; both @ NWRO & Nationally

4. 06 Fuels Project Proposals • Deadline for NFPORS entry – 5/1/05 • 06 Projects in NFPROS • $10,174K 55,453 Ac • Approved Projects in NFPORS • Totals : $7,944K 46,663 Ac • HFR: $2,943K 24,135 Ac • WUI: $5,001K 22,528 Ac • Budget Adjustment ~ July, 05

5. Meet Accomplishments Project Planning Project Funding + = Fuels Project ProposalRequirements • Support NFP/BIA/Tribal Objectives • Basic Project Data & Maps • Include statements of how dollars will be used to meet objectives • Include itemized deliverables, with schedules, that the dollars will fund.

6. Fuels Project $ For Fuels Planning Caveats: • NFP Goal – HFR • Planning $ don’t directly yield HFR accomplishments • Planning $ have to be prioritized w/ other Agency/Tribal Treatment Projects Accountability (another NFP Goal) • In 2000-01 a lot of $ allocated for planning efforts; results varied. • New proposals have to be more focused with itemized deliverables & prioritized with other project submissions.

7. Zones for Fuels Planning • Homes/Structures (NFPA 1144 or ?) • WUI Zone • Early Rule of Thumb – 1.5 Mi. • Buffer Zone (fuel break) – crown fire go back to ground fire – containable around home sites. • HFR Zone – “back 40” • Need to integrate planning for all these zones

8. Fuels Planning Goals • Identify Risks & Hazards • Prioritize Projects • Cobble together a 5-10 Yr. Fuels Treatment Plan From that, Develop Treatment Plans

9. Couer d’Alene Wildland Fuels Mapping/Planning Project • Good example of utilizing partnerships & cost sharing. We could learn from their efforts in creating these partnerships & developing multiple funding sources. • Lessons learned @ CdA could help other planning efforts & possibly set regional protocols to create useable GIS layers for better fuels mapping. • Looking to this project as an on-going success story in Indian country I want to thank the CdA folks for organizing & hosting this workshop

10. Misc. Thoughts “. . working in our own little black box” • Don’t have the horse power or budget to keep working alone in our little black box • Can’t all be experts in everything/ with every new tool/program • Need to expand our efforts in knowledge/experience sharing • Partnerships w/in Agency/Tribes, across agencies (Tribal/Fed/State/Local), cost sharing, tech transfer, etc. • Fuels program can’t pay for it all.