Support CWPP/Tribal equivalent devlopment, implementation and updating
1. Identify grant sources, which can be used or repurposed administratively or legislatively, to support development, updating and implementation of CWPPs (or tribal equivalents) at the local level.
2. Encourage development of CWPPs/Tribal equivalents for all communities/counties at moderate, high or extremely high risk of wildfire. Use CWPP guidance documents available at http://www.stateforesters.org/files/cwpphandbook.pdf and http://www.stateforesters.org/CWPP-community-guide.
3. Encourage regular updating of all existing CWPPs/Tribal equivalents. Recommend all entities be involved in updating CWPPs. Treatment plans for all ownerships should be coordinated to ensure landscapes and highest hazard areas are being treated to aid in suppression and reduce risk to firefighters.
4. Promote private, local, state, Tribal and Federal collaborative efforts to treat highest hazard areas identified in CWPPs/Tribal equivalents and other hazard/risk assessments.
5. Enlist high capacity local CWPP collaboratives to pilot the inclusion of fire management planning and post fire risk analysis in their CWPPs and relate implementation plans. Share successful techniques for engaging individual property owners and WUI residents in the protection of their own assets.
6. Encourage prompt updating and implementation of existing CWPPs/Tribal equivalents by affected Tribes/counties/communities following a wildfire event. Develop protocols for all entities to monitor effectiveness of treatments done in CWPP/Tribal equivalents-prioritized areas. Did treatments aid in suppression actions? Was fire behavior reduced in treated areas, making firefighting safer?
7. Enable and encourage open source updating and maintenance of the CWPP handbook by users.
8. In all updates, include fire adapted community concepts and community members' responsibilities in preparing their homes and properties for the possibility of fire. Identify technical and financial resources available.
9. Develop a system/mechanism to integrate cWPPs/Tribal equivalents into National Forest and DOI and DOD fire management planning processes. Investigate the inclusion of CWPPs/Tribal equivalents in relevant agency plans (LRMP, FMP, IRMP, etc.). Use CWPP hazard maps in the prioritization of landscape treatments.
10. Provide information to state emergency services programs regarding "best practices" for their role in planning and fire events.
11. Continue and expand existing programs to integrate fire science into the local context for fire adapted community efforts, including use of fire behavior models and risk assessments and fire ecology.
12. Create national and/or state clearinghouses where completed hazard/risk assessment maps are available for use by local, state, and Federal agencies. Use assessments to identify where high hazard areas overlap and ensure treatments are given priority for funding in these areas. Maps of areas that have been treated should also be made available for use in planning, suppression and monitoring efforts at the local level.
Short Term (0-2 years)
Other collaborators: social scientists, fire ecologist, firesafe councils, fire management leadership, fire learning networks, prescribed fire councils, state emergency managers. This is also a National A priority. 2/27/14 update: Many are looking into how to support development and implementation of CWPPs. DOI is exploring criteria and availability under Community Assistance grants for FY 15. FEMA pre disaster mitigation grants are considering new criteria and funding for CWPP efforts. State Farm is now supporting mitigation efforts and wildfire preparedness activities. IAFC completed Leaders Guide for communities and others to support development of CWPPs. May 14 update: there is some discussion about how to utilize the WWRA and other assessments under these activities and make them available region wide.
