Enclosure 3A - Project Summary Form
159
NATIONAL FIRE PLAN COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE AND WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE PROJECTS
Application for Fuels Treatment Projects
Applicant
Applicant/Organization:
Planetary Science Institute Northwest Division
Phone:
Type of Applicant: (enter appropriate letter in box)
L
509.996.3933
FAX:
A. State
B. County
C. Municipal
D. Township
E. Interstate
F. Intermunicipal
G. Special District
509.996.3772
Email:
Mccord@psi.edu
H. Independent School District
I. State-Controlled Institution of Higher Learning
J. Private University
K. Indian Tribe
L. Nonprofit Organization
M. Other (Specify) _______________________
Address (Street or P. O. Box, City, State, Zip):
PO Box 667, Winthrop, Wa. 98862
Project Coordinator
Project Coordinator (Name and Title):
Dave Demyan Project Director
Organization/Jurisdiction:
PSI-NW 501-3c
Phone:
FAX:
Email:
509.996.3933
509.996.3772
Demyan@mymethow.com
Project Information
Project Title:
Upper Rendezvous Project
Proposed Project Start Date:
April 2005
Proposed Project End Date:
December 2005
Federal Funding Request:
$245,318
Total Project Cost:
$353,844
Are you submitting multiple projects? If so, please prioritize, and explain if the projects are stand alone, sequential or other:
No
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).
PSI and Upper Rendezvous Landowners Association in cooperation with Methow Forest Owners
Cooperative, Okanogan Communities Development Council, Methow Conservancy, DNR, USDAFS, and WDFW will continue the fuels reduction work that is in varying stages of completion on
approximately 976 acres of private land located in T35 R21 S 5, 6, 7 and 8, seven miles NW of
Winthrop. The project includes value added slash utilization, defensible space creation, wildfire
contingency planning, landowner education and development of a long-term maintenance plan.
This project will reduce the short and long term risk of negative impacts from fire events.
Project Location:
County:
Federal Congressional District:
Winthrop, Wa.
Okanogan
5th
Name of Federal, State or Tribal contact with whom you coordinated this proposal:
Telephone number of Contact:
Leahe Swayze, USDA FOREST SERVICE
509-996-4063
Enclosure 3A (Page 1 of 3) - 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:
 project location (e.g., Watershed,
Address
neighboring community)
these items
as applicable:  anticipated outcomes

project relationship to the community risk assessment and
mitigation plan
 amount or extent of actions (acres, number of homes, etc.)
 community partners and their
 project timeline and matching or contributed funds
role(s)
 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 haven’t worked with a local coordination group, why not?
The Upper Rendezvous Project area encompasses 976 acres of the headwaters of the upper Cub Creek drainage. It is a
patchwork of dry site forest, aspen groves, forest/steppe ecotone, shrub/grassland and riparian areas. Over the past
decade the Upper Rendezvous Landowners have engaged in a variety of management activities to improve fire
preparedness. Following nearly a century of fire suppression the task is daunting. Financial resources and time have
limited the ability of landowners to adequately address the issue. The paramount objective of this project will be to
reduce the risk of negative environmental, health and economic impacts during wildfire events. Coordinated
implementation of thinning, pruning, piling and burning will achieve the primary objective. Ancillary considerations of
air quality, economics, wildlife habitat retention, aesthetics, ongoing maintenance, structure protection and wildfire
suppression will also be achievements of this project.
Landowners are the primary project partners. They have maintained a fire-fighting engine, cooperate on road
maintenance and are now working together on fuels reduction and fire preparedness. The Methow Forest Owners’
Cooperative with Okanogan Communities Development Council (OCDC) are also major partners in this project. PSI is
working closely with them as plans are being made to have the infrastructure in place to handle small diameter material
that will be generated during this project. Air quality as well as economic issues are driving this effort. Utilization of
the material will decrease the tonnage of material that will be burned in the field thus reducing air pollution. This
project will not only assure a supply of materials, but also provide place to set up a yard to perform the work. Methow
Conservancy, which holds conservation easements on more than a third of the project area, will be lending their
technical expertise to assure that wildlife habitat and conservation values will be protected. Washington State DNR is
continuing to offer their expertise through the Firewise program and close cooperation with the area fire officer.
Landowners will learn about structure protection, wildfire behavior and fire fighting tactics. Detailed maps will be
created with road conditions, structures, water sources and safety zones to be distributed to landowners, emergency
services and firefighting entities. Coordination of management plans will be done with USDA-FS and WDFW whose
lands border the Upper Rendezvous, to the West, East and South. This cooperation has been previously demonstrated
with a controlled burn conducted on USDA-FS and private land at the north end of the Upper Rendezvous. The project
area borders public lands. The treatments and detailed mapping will greatly improve the safety and efficacy of fire
suppression efforts in the event of wildfire. As part of this project close communication with the agencies will permit
complementary management activities. PSI is an active participant in the “Methow Community Fire Plan
Coordination Group” planning process.
Four hundred acres will receive fuels reduction treatments during the course of this project. Treatments will include
non-commercial thinning, pruning, hand piling and burning. There are over 30 dwellings and over 2000 acres in the
Upper Rendezvous that will be at less risk, during wildfire events, following this project. Annual evaluations of fire
preparedness, including fuel conditions around structures will be part of a long-term strategy in the Upper Rendezvous.
Work will commence April of 2005 and be completed by December of 2005. Landowner match of 25% for treatments
will be in the form of cash, labor and material contributed for value-added firewood/specialty products. Land suitable
for this facility is also a Rendezvous landowner contribution. Material and a location for a value added facility will
reduce start up costs and help build infrastructure for future fuels reduction projects.
The overall cost of the project will be $353,844. $245,318 Fire Plan $108,526 Match.
PSI was established in 1972 and has an excellent track record of successful project implementation. Project Operations
Director has had successfully completed several restoration and community forestry projects. Administrative Fiscal
Officer has had extensive federal project management experience.
Enclosure 3A (Page 2 of 3) - 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:
A. The entire Upper Rendezvous Area, nearly 2000 acres, consists of 63 parcels of land with over 30 structures, and an additional
3 more will be constructed in the summer of 2004. The project area has 20 dwellings and the majority of the forested acres that
are in need of treatment. Over the next 10 years many of the landowners are planning on becoming year round residents. The
area is typical of the wildland urban interface. While local landowners would bear the brunt of impacts during a fire event the
larger community would also be affected. The Forest Service road that loops along the north and west portion of the Upper
Rendezvous and the ski/bike trail that passes through WDFW and one of the landowner participant’s land on the east boundary
would be much less popular following a fire event. Recreation has become a major part of the local economy and protection of
the view shed is an important part of protecting that industry. A fire event with the present fuel loading would be devastating
for the existing recreational use of the area surrounding the Upper Rendezvous. It would also be detrimental to mule deer
fawning areas, which are relatively undisturbed, as there is no public access and very little activity. The Upper Rendezvous
area is a defacto wildlife refuge that will benefit from fuels reduction activities. This again relates to the local community’s
tourist businesses, which depend on hunters for fall season revenues.
B. Thinning, pruning, piling and burning are the core activities of the project. Many acres of the Upper Rendezvous are aspen,
steppe or have been previously thinned. Treating 400 acres of the project area will effectively protect all structures and provide
large areas where suppression efforts can be safe and effective. Fuel types vary across the terrain, which includes a variety of
cover types and fuel loads. Dense thickets of Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine are the high priority areas for non-commercial
thinning, hand piling and burning. Many of the Douglas-fir thickets are infected with dwarf mistletoe while the ponderosa pine
contain elytroderma and have a high bark beetle mortality rate. The excessive growth and mortality from these pathogens
create “jackpots” that have the potential for explosive fire behavior that is extremely dangerous to firefighters. Approximately
255 acres will be thinned, 98acres will be pruned and 45 acres have already been thinned and require only hand piling. These
figures may change as landowner efforts will continue through 2004. Portions of the project area where pruning will occur are
at natural or manmade firebreaks to aid in suppression efforts. Contract forestry crews and/or the landowners will perform the
work under the oversight of the project director. Forestry prescriptions will require that treatments follow a natural leave tree
selection process, which results in clumps, clusters and groupings of the most vigorous trees interspersed with numerous
clearings. This approach to non-commercial thinning eliminates the risk of sustained crown fires, promotes multi-aged stands,
increases snow deposition, moderates runnoff, reduces populations of pathogenic insect populations and enhances understory
plant community diversity. Thinning with forestry crews will take place in June and July followed by hand piling that will
occur in August, September and October. Burning will be completed by early December. Landowners, performing the
treatments themselves, will schedule the timing of their treatments, but all will be completed no later than December. The
firewood/pole value added component of the project will continue beyond the term of this project. This project will emphasize
cost-effective treatments implemented strategically over the project area to provide fire fighters with as safe an environment as
possible during fire events, protect dwellings and landowners and maintain these conditions through continued natural forest
management.
C. Mechanical treatments, or controlled burns in conjunction with FS, will be implemented to maintain desired stocking levels.
Improved growth rates of trees will permit future commercial harvests that will pay for maintenance treatments in the future.
Compared to initial treatments that will restore sustainable fire safe stocking levels, ongoing maintenance costs will be
minimal.
D. Collaborative partners will represent multiple perspectives to assure that economic and environmental objectives are met for
this immediate project. PSI has relationships with local and regional environmental groups that are supportive of the work that
has been done in the past. Progress on this and other restoration projects will be posted on the PSI website. Standardized
monitoring protocols that are being developed as part of a separate WDFW project will allow quantification of ecological
outcomes, both short and long term, following restoration treatments. The Methow Conservancy will also continue to perform
annual monitoring on each property with a conservation easement.
Enclosure 3A (Page 3 of 3) - 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:
A. Utilization of firewood and poles will provide two to three new jobs processing and delivering product. Post and rails have the
potential to provide additional jobs building fences. Other possible uses for the material are furniture and flooring. The
contribution of a continuous and high quality supply of material will enhance the Cooperative’s chance of successfully
maintaining a value-added business and fits in with OCDC’s mission of assisting value added businesses. Utilization, rather
than burning, will decrease the amount of smoke released as part of the restoration process. Smoke has, in the past, had
negative impacts on the local tourism industry.
B. There will be approximately 20 jobs directly created for this project. 18 will be seasonal thinning, piling and burning jobs
while two to three will be year-round jobs operating the firewood/pole yard. The number of jobs created by further value
added businesses that this project will support are unknown.
C. Over the course of the project the landowners will learn a variety of dry site management skills which will translate to better
long -term forest management and wildfire preparedness. The Coop and OCDC will gain experience in value added business
operation. A variety of yarding methods are being considered for removal of the material. These include ATV/trailer, miniyarders and a flume system. Each of these techniques will provide valuable experience for forest workers.
D. Most of the biomass will be utilized for firewood, rails or other value added products. The firewood yard is being located on a
field that is in poor condition. Following the marketing of the product the compacted soil will be plowed and disced with the
“waste” sawdust and bark spread over the surface with appropriate soil amendments (fertilizer). The following year it will be
seeded with native plants to complete the restoration. Most of the accessible biomass over 2.5” in diameter, generated by this
operation, will be utilized.
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:
A. The risk assessment and mitigation plan is in process. PSI is participating in the process via the Methow Community Fire Plan
Coordination Group. The group consists of public and private individuals involved in fuels reduction efforts.
B. The Implementation Plan has been prepared in consultation with bordering public land managers and private landowners
C. Methow Forest Owners Cooperative, OCDC, Methow Conservancy, DNR, USDA-FS, WDFW. Letters of Intent have been
obtained from landowners, Methow Forest Owners’ Cooperative and OCDC.
D. Local environmentalists are in support of this type of fuels reduction treatment and utilization. Landowners are the primary
driver of the project and have committed to supplying cost share contributions. These contributions are in the form of cash,
labor and in-kind. In addition the landowners have agreed to donate any thinning materials that are accessible, with minimal
environmental impacts, for value added utilization. Land for the firewood/pole yard is also a landowner contribution.
Enclosure 3A - Project Work Form
Tasks
Time Frame
Responsible Party
Prepare treatment plan, defensible space
design, and prepare contract with each
landowner.
Prepare detailed maps and prescriptions
Solicit bids for forest treatments.
Evaluate and select bids.
April and May
Project Director and Administrator
Oversee, coordinate, evaluate all operations
and
provide
field training
as required.
Begin
preparation
of wildfire
contingency
Thinning,
Pruning,
Hand
piling
plans.
Firewise workshop
Set up firewood/pole yard
June
Project Director
Oversee and coordinate all operations
Present Draft fire preparedness plan to project
participants
July
Contractor or Landowner
WDNR – Chuck Johnson
COOP & OCDC
Operate Value Added Facility
Thinning, Pruning, Hand piling
Project Director
Coop
Contractors
Oversee all operations
Run firewood and pole operation
Monitor value added
Hand pile
August
Project Director
Coop
OCDC
Contractors
Oversee all operations
Present final fire preparedness plan to project
participants
Run firewood and pole operation
Evaluate value added
Hand pile
September
Project Director
Oversee all operations
Run firewood and pole operation
Evaluate value added
Hand pile
October
Project Director
Coop
OCDC
Contractors
Oversee all operations
Run firewood and pole operation
Evaluate value added
Burn piles
November
Project Director
Coop
OCDC
Contractors
Final Report on project
December
Project Director
Coop
OCDC
Contractors
Enclosure 3D Project Budget
Cost Category
Description
Federal
Agency
COOP
Landowners
Total
Personnel
Project Director
Administrator
Coop
42,000
18,480
Subtotal
60,480
23,750
23,750
84,230
Fringe Benefits
Health insurance, L&I, etc.
Subtotal
19,320
19,320
19,320
Travel
Staff
Subtotal
500
500
500
Landowner Planning
Landowner Time
10,800
Subtotal
10,800
10,800
Supplies
Forestry (kraft paper, fuel)
Maps, printed materials, etc.
Subtotal
12,240
2,100
14,340
14,340
Contractual
Forest Work
Subtotal
150,678
50,226
150,678
50,226
200,904
Other
Small diameter wood $10/cd.
Land Rental @ 500/mo.
11,750
12,000
Subtotal
Total Costs
245,318
23,750
23,750
23,750
84,776
353,844
Project (Program) Income1
(using deductive alternative)
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.