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WRSC Newsletter #9 12/13/2013

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The WRSC delivers articles and stories here each month that demonstrate the collaborative efforts of agencies, organizations and communities supporting and promoting the three goals of the Cohesive Strategy: Restoring Resilient Landscapes, Creating Fire Adapted Communities and Responding to Wildfire.
The newsletter is our primary communication tool with our partners and members of the public. Feel free to contact us with ideas for articles or comments.

Clear Creek Watershed and
Meadow Restoration Project

Clear Creek is located in Lassen County, in northeastern California. The watershed and meadow restoration project is notable because it treated the entire landscape around the creek and the community to reduce the threat of catastrophic fire. The project was coordinated by the Lassen County Fire Safe Council, with support from Sierra Nevada Conservancy, California Fire Safe Council, and the US Forest Service. Encroaching white fir and young trees were removed to restore health and vitality to the ecosystem, and to reduce the threat of a stand-replacing wildfire. The project employs the three goals of the Cohesive Strategy. Landscape treatments to reduce excessive fuel loads will protect the watershed and the creek from severe wildfire, protect the community and increase the survivability of its homes, and make a future wildfire easier to suppress. Watch the video>

Karuk Tribe is Ready for Wildfire

On July 26, 2013 the Dance Fire started on the Karuk Tribal territory in NW California. The tribe had been working with the local Fire Safe Council and had a detailed CWPP. The fire started on the edge of town. Within 20 minutes the local Fire Safe Council representative was on site and utilized by the Incident Commander to help in the evacuation of several hundred people. The Tribe initiated emergency support functions and immediately set up an evacuation center, which was staffed and supplied within four hours. The center provided service to community members until the fire passed, and then transitioned to a Clean Air Center. Only one house was lost. Fire Adapted Community concepts were well employed in this community with knowledge and preparation before the fire. Clear communication and collaboration between agencies and organizations, both during and after the fire, helped to lessen the negative impacts on the community. Read more>

Falls Creek Ranch Project “Protecting Lives, Homes and Assets”

Falls Creek Ranch (FCR) is a heavily wooded subdivision north of Durango, Colorado and a designated Firewise Community. In 2013, resident volunteers invested over 3,000 hours in mitigation, with a value of $72,000 for in-kind services. The community emphasizes preparedness with its annual Firewise Day and Mitigation Day; this year they added four mitigation projects. FCR's focus on preparation for wildfire was the subject of a recent article.

Collaboration in Open Space Planning

Collaboration is the key to preparing for wildfire in Marin County. The Open Space and Parks Department worked with the county Fire Chiefs to create a plan for open space that incorporates fuel breaks and defensible space. The plan balances biodiversity and public safety, ending a controversy that had pitted environmentalists against the fire department. A county supervisor called the collaboration a "model for other agencies," saying that "fire protection and biodiversity are not mutually exclusive." Collaboration among partners to protect landscapes and people is at the heart of the Cohesive Strategy. Read more>

Zones of Agreement Lead to More Restoration

A new report by the Idaho Forest Restoration Partnership, finds that when projects fall within a "zone of agreement", there is less opposition to the project. These zones of agreement include a focus on restoring forest resilience resulting in local jobs, forest products, and environmental benefits such as improvements to water quality and wildlife habitat, in addition to reduced wildfire threat. More proof that collaboration works! Read more>

WRSC Cohesive Strategy Brochures Available Online!

Are you wearing yourself out explaining the Cohesive Strategy and what it means to wildland fire management in the West? Here's a tri-fold brochure that explains the strategy, what we are trying to accomplish, and how people can get involved. You can download copies from the West's homepage .

Upcoming Learning and Networking Opportunities

Saturday, December 14 Wildland Fire Assessment Program at the Iowa Fire Service Training Bureau – Ames, IA

Saturday, January 4 Wildland Fire Assessment Program at Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue – The Dalles, OR

March 17-19 2014 Wildland-Urban Interface Conference - Reno, NV

Katie Lighthall
Coordinator, Western Region
National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy
Klighthall@bendcable.com

Ann Walker
Co-Chair Western Region
Western Governors' Association
awalker@westgov.org

Tony Harwood
Co-chair Western Region
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
tonyh@cskt.org

Kent Connaughton
Co-Chair Western Region
US Forest Service
kconnaughton@fs.fed.us

WRSC e-Newsletter produced by Renner Associates LLC