Project Summary Form
Id Number 2006-004
NATIONAL FIRE PLAN COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE AND WILDLAND URBAN-INTERFACE PROJECTS
Application for Fuels Treatment Projects
Applicant
Applicant/Organization:
State of Oregon Department of Forestry/SWO/Grants Pass
Phone: (111 111-1111 x 1111)
Type of Applicant: (enter appropriate letter in box)
A
503-945-7341
FAX: (111 111-1111 x 1111)
A. State
B. County
C. Municipal
D. Township
E. Interstate
503-945-7416
Please Call Ahead For FAX
H. Independent School District
I. State-Controlled Institution of Higher Learning
J. Private University
K. Indian Tribe
L. Nonprofit Organization
Address (Street or P. O. Box, City, State, Zip):
2600 State Street Salem, OR 97310
Project Coordinator
Project Coordinator (Name and Title):
Mary Helen Smith Grant Coordinator/Teresa Vonn Field Coordinator
Organization/Jurisdiction:
Oregon Department of Forestry
Phone: (111 111-1111 x 1111)
503-945-7431
FAX: (111 111-1111 x 1111)
503-945-7416
Call Ahead For FAX
Email:
msmith@odf.state.or.us
Project Information
Project Title:
Azalea Drive Neighborhood Fuels Treatment Project
Proposed Project Start Date:
03/01/2006
Federal Funding Request:
$ 259,623
Proposed Project End Date:
12/31/2007
Total Project Funding:
$
697,307
Are you submitting multiple projects? If so, please explain and prioritize:
This is a stand alone project prepared in coordination with the Josephine County integrated Fire Plan Fuel Reduction Committee. It is one of
four being submitted in Josephine County by ODF. The fuel reduction committee would rank this grant as #1 of the ODF grants in Josephine
County.
Brief Project Summary: Who, What, Where, Desired Outcomes in relation to NFP Goals and Community Risk Assessment and
Mitigation Plans (This should summarize page 2).
The Fuel Reduction Committee of the Josephine Integrated Fire Plan has identified the Azalea Drive area as an area of critical concern and a top
priority for fuel treatment. The Oregon Department of Forestry, recognizes this need and is requesting funding to continue the existing Defensible
Space cost-share program. The program began in 1998 and has had a high degree of interest and success. Josephine County is a partner with
ODF providing Title III grant money for technical assistance. ODF will provide the technical assistance and meet with landowners one on one to
define the defensible space and identify areas most in need of treatment. ODF will write prescriptions that most effectively change the fuel loading.
Expanded defensible space areas will include roadside and driveway access to allow egress during a fire. Strategic areas of up to 5 acres may also
be treated between homes within this community.
Project Location:
Latitude: 42.50681
Longitude: 123.329
County:
Josephine
Name of Federal, State or Tribal contact with whom you coordinated this proposal:
Federal Congressional District:
4
Telephone number of Contact:
Tim Gonzales BLM,Fire Education and Mitigation Specialist
541-471-6943 Ext.
Teresa Vonn, ODF, District Protection Planner
541-664-3328 Ext.
Lang Johnson, Rural Metro
541-474-1218 Ext.
Project Narrative Description
Applications for funding must include a narrative response that describes the proposal. Please do not submit responses
longer than one page, single space, 12-pitch font.
Describe project including, but not limited to:
x project relationship to the community risk assessment and
x project location (e.g., Watershed,
Address
mitigation plan
neighboring community)
these items
as applicable: x anticipated outcomes
x amount or extent of actions (acres, number of homes, etc.)
x project timeline and matching or contributed funds
x community partners and their
role(s)
x proponent’s ability to complete project
For this project, explain the level of cooperation, coordination or strategic planning, through a “Local Coordination
Group.” If you have not worked with a local coordination group, why not?
Several Members of the Josephine/Jackson County Local Coordination Group have been contacted.
Is this project adjacent to a current prescribed burn project on federal lands or to one that is planned within the next
three years? (Yes/No) No
Please indicate planned treatments and associated acres:
* Treatment Thinning
Acres 250
Treatment Hand Piling
Acres 250
Treatment Mastication/Mowing
Acres 50
Treatment Hand Pile Burning
Acres 250
If you have a treatment type other than standard types above:
Other 1
Acres 0
Other 2
Acres 0
* The project is located in an area near Grants Pass, Oregon. It lies south of Merlin and north of Redwood Hwy including White Fir Drive, Azalea
Drive, Peco Drive, Saratoga, Cienaga, and Ewe Creek. Many of the homes in this urban/rural community are 5 acre lots interspersed with BLM lots.
BLM has completed 300 acres of fuel treatment in the vicinity and an addition 640 acres are planned in order to cumulatively treat a significant
portion of the landscape.
* The JCIFP Fuels Reduction Committee has unanimously adopted a coordinated approach to systematically address priority wildfire hazard areas
throughout the County. This proposed grant is part of a coordinated suite of projects prioritized by the JCIFP fuels committee and was identified as
essential. The coordinated approach of this project, and other 2004 & 2005 fuels reduction projects in Josephine County, can be found in a map
available at, http://cwch.uoregon.edu/CCWP/JCIFP/ATTACHMENTS/JCIFP NFP 06.jpg. The official contact for the Josephine County Integrated
Fire Plan is Mark Sorensen, Josephine County, 541-474-5300, msorensen@co.josephine.or.us.
* Similar to the 2005 Josephine County grant which focused on Selma, Cathedral hills, and Wolf creek, this area was identified through a
collaborative effort by the JCIFP fuels reduction committee. The community in this 11,000 acre area has been active in creating defensible space
with nearly 1,000 homes completed. The focus is to continue that momentum and create extended defensible space areas. 150 homes and 150
acres of fuel reduction are proposed. The treatment areas are intended to modify fire behavior in the event of a wildfire and thus result in greater
wildland firefighter and public safety. Multi-tax lot projects are being targeted using criteria that: maximize the number of residences where fire
hazard can be reduced; reduce likelihood of large scale wildfire events by strategic landscape fuels reduction; optimize collaboration with fuels
reduction on adjacent federal land; and include significant community participation.
* The anticipated outcome is significant fire hazard reduction and education about the importance of fuel reduction and treatment maintenance.
Forest Officers[FO] will be retained in the winter to meet with landowners to provide education and award cost-share approval and finalize the
treatment when completed so that payment can be made. These FOs work in the same areas during fire season where they administer the grant
programs and therefore provide continuity to the landowner in service and commitment. These FOs may be fighting fire on the land that is proposed
for cost-share treatment. Ensuring that a quality job is attained not only benefits the landowner but the firefighter as well. Josephine County Title III
funds will be used to provided technical assistance for landowners and implement the cost-share approval and rebate processing for approved fuels
treatments. Technical assistance provided to landowners offers a one on one educational opportunity regardless of whether the landowner qualifies
for the grant. ODF cost-shares have been $330 an acre with landowners. This cost-share may cover nearly half of the actual cost of treatment
resulting in considerable landowner commitment both for treatment and maintenance. Other outcomes: 1. Reduce risk to life safety, property, &
natural resources; 2. Enhance Fire District capacity for community fire planning; 3. Increase resources for fuels reduction, prevention, & education;
and 4. Foster collaborative partnerships between agencies, community organizations, and citizens around fire protection. Reduction in the rate of
human-caused fire occurrence, through increased resident awareness and fire prevention education.
* Community partners include Rural/Metro Fire Service, Josephine County, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service. Federal agencies identify
planned fuels reduction projects on adjacent lands. ODF conducts assessments and approves completed work. Private contractors, community
organizations, and landowners conduct fuels reduction work. Coordination with fire districts and with community groups has been successful in
developing local partnerships for fuels reduction planning, implementation, follow-up, and education. This effort is also coordinated with the JacksonJosephine County Local Coordinating Group, which formed in 2004 to bring increased cooperation and partnerships between the two counties.
* The proposed project will begin upon award and will be completed by in December, 2007. ODF has a high success rate in implementing a rebate
style cost-share with landowner and have treated 2800 homes in the last 5 years. Funding for technical assistance is essential to ensure that
residents participating in the cost-share program understand the principles behind fuels reduction and maintain the fuels reduction work for many
years to come, as much as $100,000 is necessary to maintain 4 Forest Officers for eight months.
Project Evaluation Criteria
Applications for funding must include narrative responses that address the following three criteria. Be sure you address every one
briefly, yet thoroughly. Limit your responses to the area provided.
1. Reducing Hazardous Fuels (50 points)
A. Describe the community infrastructure that will be protected.
B. Explain how the proposal reduces fire behavior in high hazard areas by describing the fuels to be disposed or
removed, and the techniques and timing of the treatments.
C. How will the proposed treatments be maintained in future years?
D. How will you use multi-party monitoring to improve this and future projects?
Response:
In addition to dwellings and residential out buildings, infrastructure protected will be the Fort Vannoy School and a Fire Station,
primarily power line and road systems will also be protected from fire and fire-related erosions At- high risk residences and
access routes are the primary type of infrastructure targeted for protection. In addition, other structures [e.g. churches, historic
buildings, power lines, scenic areas] will be included as they relate to the specific area being treated.
Fuels to be treated include but are not limited to natural brush species such as manzanita, wedge-leaf ceanothus, and madrone,
and natural coniferous fir and pine tree species. Hazard reduction plans will also include treatment of non-native, flammable
vegetation such as scotch broom. Ladder fuels and hazardous fuel continuity will be treated through the processes of removal,
reduction, or replacement with fire resistant plants. Fuel reduction will be accomplished on residential defensible space, driveway
access improvement, and landscape thinning to reduce the fuel load by hand treatment, including thinning, slashing and pruning to
remove brush, ladder fuels, standing dead trees, or by mechanical treatment. The goal being to reduce overly dense stands and
restore landscapes to conditions similar to those resulting from regularly recurrent fire. Slash will be hand piled and burned or
chipped, or lopped and scattered. Documentation of the results will be retained through before and after photos.
Long term treatment will be stressed through education and reinforced in all cost share agreements with the acknowledgment that
maintenance by the landowner is a condition of the cost-share. An aggressive education and outreach program sponsored by the
county, ODF, Fire Services, and Fire Districts will be essential for the successful maintenance of treated areas. Maintenance will
be monitored through pre and post treatment photo points as well as a follow up of photo points on a random sample of treated
acres 5 years after treatment. These photos used in community education and outreach programs. Pre and post photos have been
captured for 3 years and are used in community meetings as well as in quarterly reports to the Josephine County Commissioners.
The importance of reducing fuel loads and maintaining fuel treatments can be reinforced with an understanding of basic how-to
skills for stand management. Once absorbed into individual behavioral patterns maintaining and expanding fuel treatments will
become more important to landowners and less expensive if continually implemented. A Regional fire awareness newsletter is
proposed for Southern Oregon and this project is committed to participating in the newsletter. One on One landowner education
as well as neighborhood meetings will be deployed to increased fire preparedness and encourage participation in fuels reduction
and maintenance.
Tracking the location of completed fuel reduction projects is currently maintained by Josephine County and provides
documentation of accomplishments. Multi-party monitoring by ODF in partnership with community fire planning leaders and Fire
Districts will implement project and effectiveness monitoring with the establishment of pre and post fuel treatment photo points. In
the event of a fire through a treatment area photo points will also be obtained for analysis of project effectiveness.
ODF has a long history of successfully implementing NFP grants.
Project Evaluation Criteria
2.
Increasing Local Capacity (25 points)
A. How would the proposal improve or lead to the improvement of the local economy in terms of jobs and
sustainable economic activity?
B. How many jobs are expected to be created or retained and for how long? (Please distinguish between
essentially year-round and seasonal jobs).
C. What tools and skills will be gained or utilized as a result of this project?
D. Will biomass be utilized; if so, in what manner and how much?
Response:
The fuel reduction industry in Southern Oregon has developed into a competitive venue for those willing to invest in equipment to
mulch or shred smaller diameter brush, hard and softwoods up to 6-8 inches DBH. Two years ago there was one large slash buster
working mostly on federal lands, today there are 5 smaller machines working on private lands. Local contractors have built
equipment especially for fuels reduction on small lots or for landscape treatment. One contractor is utilizing a shearer to harvest small
diameter material for utilization. Contractors who traditionally work fire crews in the summer are contracting out for fuels reduction on
private lands. ODF maintains a list of contractors that wish to be contacted for fuel reduction projects, both mechanical and
handcrew. Continuation of cost-share for fuel reduction will drive and expand this industry.
Skills necessary to motivate people to take a role in creating a safer living space will be essential to implement this project. Education
will be the biggest tool needed to meet the objective of promoting and attaining increased defensible space in local high risk
communities.
Biomass utilization has historically been in the form of firewood and pole production. Some pole companies will perform the fuel
reduction if the number and quality of poles is of particular abundance and quality. ODF maintains a list of pole companies/buyers.
Biomass utilization opportunities will continue to be explored through JCIFP.
3.
Demonstrating Community and Intergovernmental Collaboration (25 Points)
A. How will this project implement a community risk assessment and mitigation plan? Include name of plan, date
it was prepared, and local contact to get a copy of the plan if requested.
B. How has this treatment been coordinated with adjacent landowners and local/State/Tribal/Federal agencies?
C. Identify the cooperators/partners involved in implementation of this project.
D. Describe the extent of current local support for the project, including any cost-sharing agreements.
Response:
This project will implement the JCIFP adopted in 2003. The participation on the JCIFP Fuels Reduction Committee, composed of
representatives from the Forest Service, BLM, ODF, Josephine County Forestry, 5 fire service areas, and 6 community
organizations, has provided a comprehensive analysis of existing and proposed projects in the county. One criterion for determining
high risk areas is that they be contiguous to past, current, or planned fuels reduction activities on federal lands.
Partners in this project include: JCIFP Fuels Reduction Committee, Rural/Metro Fire Service, Josephine County, BLM, and Forest
Service, private contractors and community organizations. Josephine County is a partner providing Title III funds for technical
assistance. Landowner participation and interest exceeds the demand for the current funding for previous grants for communities at
risk resulting in aggressive landowner partnership seeking financial assistance. This grant would continue an already successful
cost-share program that provides a rebate of $330 per acre for those parcels that are approved to participate in the program. BLM
is a partner providing the location of completed and proposed projects and the prescription of treatment. The Rural fire services are
partners collaborating on the placement of successful treatments, as well as providing contacts for landowners education.
Agency and organizational support is quite comprehensive as demonstrated by the widespread participation in the JCIFP
process.
* Neighborhood groups-fire planning & hazard reduction actions
* ODF-Technical assistance for residential hazard reduction recommendations
* Josephine County-Funding ODF personnel with Title 3 funds
* BLM-Fire Planning
Project Work Form
Tasks
Time Frame
On-site resident assistance - development of
individual hazard reduction plans
Responsible Party
Oregon Department of Forestry
March 1, 2006
Hazard Reduction activities
Landowners/Oregon Department of
Forestry, landowners and contractors
3/1/2006-12/31/2007
Community planning meetings
Landowners/Oregon Department of
Forestry, and Fire Districts, and BLM
Ongoing
Oregon Department of Forestry,Fire
Districts, and BLM
Monitoring / Evaluation
Ongoing
Promote expansion of affected areas &
recruiting additional resident participants
Ongoing
Community Fire Planning Leaders,
Landowners/Oregon Department of
Forestry, and Fire Districts
Project Budget
Josephine County
Cost Category
Description
Federal
Agency
Applicant
Community Leaders
Partner 1
Landowner
Partner 2
Total
Partner 3
Personnel
Technical Assistance
ODF Match
Subtotal
$85,120
$0
$100,000
$5,000
$0
$190,120
$0
$205,000
$0
$0
$0
$205,000
$85,120
$205,000
$100,000
$5,000
$0
$395,120
$0
$0
$45,113
Fringe Benefits
OPE
$45,113
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$45,113
$0
$0
$0
$45,113
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$24,000
$0
$0
$0
$24,000
$0
$1,184
$0
$0
$0
$1,184
$0
$25,184
$0
$0
$0
$25,184
$0
$2,500
$0
$0
$0
$2,500
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$2,500
$0
$0
$0
$2,500
$100,000
$0
$0
$0
$100,000
$200,000
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$100,000
$0
$0
$100,000
$200,000
Field Administration
$13,813
$0
$0
$0
$0
$13,813
Salem 6% (Prot+Finance)
$15,577
$0
$0
$0
$15,577
$29,390
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$29,390
$259,623
$232,684
$100,000
$5,000
$100,000
$697,307
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
Subtotal
Travel
$0
Subtotal
Equipment
Vehicle Use
Cell Phone Use
Subtotal
Supplies
Office Materials
Subtotal
Contractual
Landowner Cost-share
Subtotal
Other
Subtotal
Total Costs
Project (Program)
Income1
___________________________________
1
Program income is the gross revenue generated by a grant or cooperative agreement supported activity during the life of the grant. Program
income can be made by recipients from fees charged for conference or workshop attendance, from rental fees earned from renting out real
property or equipment acquired with grant or cooperative agreement funds, or from the sale of commodities or items developed under the grant
or cooperative agreement. The use of Program Income during the project period may require prior approval by the granting agency.