ID Number 2007-108 Fuels Treatment Projects Application NATIONAL FIRE PLAN COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE AND WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE PROJECTS Applicant Applicant/Organization: Washington State Department of Natural Resources Type of Applicant: A (State) Email: mark.gray@wadnr.gov Phone: 360-902-1754 FAX: 360-902-1781 Please Call Ahead for FAX: Off Please Call Ahead for FAX: Off Address (Street or P. O. Box, City, State, Zip): 1111 Washington Street SE PO Box 47037 Olympia, WA 98504-7037 Project Coordinator Project Coordinator (Name and Title): Mr. Chuck Johnson, Landowner Assistance Manager Organization/Jurisdiction: DNR, Northeast Region Email: chuck,johnson@wadnr.gov Phone: 509-684-7474 FAX: 509-684-7484 Project Information Project Title: Dry Canyon Community Fuels Reduction Project Project Location: Community of Blue Slide County: Pend Oreille Congressional District: 5 Latitude: 48.607 Longitude: -117.294 State the desired outcome in relation to NFP Goals and the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). Project Objectives: The desired outcome of this project is to protect the community of Blue Slide through a coordinated effort of fuels reduction projects across private and federal lands within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) in the Blue Slide Community. This project focuses on the private lands prioritized in the Pend Oreille County CWPP for fuels reduction. These strategically located fuel breaks will modify fire size, intensity, and behavior; thereby reducing risk to lives, homes, businesses and natural resources. The created fuel breaks will assist firefighters in fire suppression, reduce costs, and increase firefighter safety. The Pend Oreille County CWPP identified mitigation and action items that needed to be implemented in order to achieve the goals identified. Funding this project will help to accomplish those goals. The CWPP process has increased community awareness and landowners are interested in participating in fuels reduction projects throughout the Blue Slide community. Name of CWPP: Pend Oreille County CWPP Name of Communit(y/ies) at Risk: Blue Slide, unicorporated Proposed Project Start Date: 06/01/2007 Proposed Project End Date: 11/30/2008 Federal Funding Request: $200,000.00 Total Project Cost: $224,500.00 Are you submitting multiple projects? Yes If YES indicate the relationship of the projects to one another: A (Stand Alone) If YES, please list the titles of projects by priority and briefly explain their relationship. There will be 6 Fuels Projects submitted by the Pend Oreille County LCG with DNR as the applicant. This is the #2 priority project. Name of Federal, State or Tribal contact with whom you coordinated this proposal: Organization/Jurisdiction: 1) Carl Wright, FMO Phone Pend Oreille Valley R.D., Colville National Forest 509-447-9281 Pend Oreille Valley R.D., Colville National For. 2) Eric Trimble, Fuels Specialist Phone 509-447-9281 3) Loren Torgerson, Assistant Region Manager Phone Email cwright@fs.fed.us 509-684-7474 Email etrimble@fs.fed.us DNR, Northeast Region Email loren.torgerson@wadnr.gov Project Planning Information Name of Local Coordinating Group: Pend Oreille County Local Coordinating Group 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? This is a collaborative proposal by the Pend Oreille County LCG and is the #2 priority project. List federal lands that are adjacent to the project and proximity. US Forest Service, Pend Oreille Valley Ranger District A) Is there a current hazardous fuels treatment or one that is planned in the next three years on federal land that is adjacent to this project? Yes B) Specifically is this project adjacent to a current prescribed burn project or one that is planned in the next three years on Forest Service lands? Yes Please indicate planned treatments and associated acres: Treatment Thinning Acres 200 Treatment Mastication/Mowing Acres 150 Treatment Hand Pile Acres 50 Treatment Hand Pile Burn Acres 50 If you have a treatment type other than standard types above: Treatment Pruning Acres 200 Treatment Ladder Fuel Removal Acres 200 Project Evaluation Criteria Applications for funding must include narrative responses that address the following criteria. Be sure you address every one briefly, yet thoroughly. 1. Reducing Hazardous Fuels (40 points) A. Describe the community infrastructure that will be protected. This should include how this project implements all or part of the CWPP strategy. (15 points) Response: Blue Slide is a community with minimal fire protection in need of hazardous fuels reduction. The neighborhoods are served by a network of power lines that pass through forested areas and across ownerships. This project will be a coordinated effort among many landowners to treat hazardous fuels identified in the Pend Oreille County CWPP as high priorities for community protection. B. Explain how the proposal reduces fire behavior in high hazard areas by describing the fuels to be disposed or removed, the techniques and timing of the treatments, and the treatment location relative to the values to be protected. (15 points) Response: The slash created by thinning, pruning and fuel ladder removal will be chipped and/or masticated on private land along main transportation routes, powerline corridors, and common property lines near homes in the community. Creation of strategic fuel breaks in the community itself, in cooperation with the USFS Misery and Hanlon fuels treatment projects, provides a treated area that can effectively modify fire behavior by keeping fire on the ground where it can safely and effectively be controlled. C. Explain how the project is designed to reduce smoke production impacts that affect public health. (10 points) Response: Most of the slash created by the fuels reduction activities on this project will be chipped and/or masticated. If any slash is piled for burning, it will be allowed to cure for one season prior to burning. Piles will be free of noncombustable debris and dirt. Permits will be obtained and conditions followed. Smoke management approval may be necessary. Contacts with law enforcement and adjacent landowners will be made. Pile and broadcast burning will occur when conditions are such that the risk of escape is low. Resources will be available for immediate suppression if necessary. 2. Increasing Local Capacity (20 points) A. How would the implementation of the proposed project improve or lead to the improvement of the local economy in terms of jobs and sustainable economic activity assuming that these grant funds would be used as "seed monies" for future projects. i.e. How many community supported jobs would be created and for how long would they expect to last? (10 points) Response: Implementation of the proposal will contribute to the local economy by providing jobs for local contractors. Because this proposal is "seed money" for a much larger project, these jobs will last long after this proposal is complete. This proposal helps pay a portion of the cost of fuels reduction activities planned and currently being accomplished in the Blue Slide Community. This proposal also pays for the Pend Oreille County Conservation District to co-administer the grant. B. Will biomass that is produced by the project be utilized; if so, in what manner and how much? (10 points) Response: Any merchantable products will be marketed. Some biomass removed from site will be in the form of firewood. Some of the biomass may be used as livestock bedding and/or chipped/shredded and spread on site for nutrient recycling. The community is open to any biomass removal that Forest Concepts might propose. 3. Demonstrating Community and Intergovernmental Collaboration (20 Points) A. Describe how this project has been collaborated and coordinated with adjacent landowners, local/state/Tribal/federal agencies, and community groups such as neighborhood associations. (10 points) Response: The Pend Oreille County CWPP was completed as a collaborative process, advocated by local community members and State and Federal Agencies. Working within the LCG, the community is striving to meet the goals of the CWPP. This project will help to complete strategically located fuel breaks across private lands that, combined with the USFS Misery and Hanlon projects, will protect the community of Blue Slide and associated critical infrastructure. B. Describe the communities/partners contributions to this project such as: cash or in-kind contributions, cost share agreements, equipment, or labor (including volunteer work). (10 points) Response: This fuel break will compliment several landowners and USFS treatment projects in the vicinity. DNR will provide administration at no cost to the grant. All grant funding will go to work on the ground to complete the cooperative fuels break. Local County RFD will provide volunteer time to the project. P.O. County Conservation District will be paid to learn the NFP Grant Processes. 4. Managing Cost Efficiency (20 points) Discuss the process you used to arrive at your cost structure for the main Project Budget areas such as personnel, equipment, supplies and other (i.e. overhead). In your response please justify: cost per acre, purchase of equipment, percent of overhead, percent of partner or matching funds, and portion of administration cost. (20 points) Response: Tasks requiring funding include 200 acres of thinning, pruning, ladder fuel removal, and a mix of chipping and masticating. Project and environmental planning, overhead, benefits and monitoring will be provided by DNR at no cost. This allows the maximum amount of grant funding to be used for on-the-ground fuels reduction work by local contractors and operators. Pend Oreille County Conservation District will be paid to co-administer the project in order to learn NFP Grant Procedures. The amount of costs shown in the budget are from $/ac estimates of contract work provided on USFS lands adjacent to this proposal, from other similar projects administered, and from other contracts awarded by the DNR. This project will tie in with the USFS Misery and Hanlon fuels projects occurring in the Blue Slide community. Some private landowners in the project area are also currently treating hazardous fuels. The project will also protect important infrastructure that contributes to the area economy. The cost of the project compared to the potential benefit of having contiguous fuel breaks in this strategic area across all ownerships is well justified. Costs per acre will be less, and acres treated will be more, depending on how much of the acreage we are able to treat with machinery versus hand crew treatments. Project Work Form Tasks Time Frame Project Planning February 2006 - June 2007 Acquire Funding June 2007 Environmental Review and RFP Preparation June - July 2007 Responsible Party DNR, Cons. Dist. and CWPP Committee DNR DNR and Cons. Dist. Project Implementation July - December 2007 DNR, Cons. Dist., Contractors, Landowners and CWPP Committee Monitoring and Project Reports July - December 2007 DNR, Cons. Dist., Contractors and CWPP Committee Project Implementation (if not completed in 2007) May - November 2008 DNR, Cons. Dist., Contractors, Landowners and CWPP Committee Project Budget P.O. Co. RFD Cost Category Description Federal Agency Applicant Partner 1 Partner 2 Partner 3 Total Personnel $15,500.00 $15,000.00 $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $31,000.00 $0.00 $1,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1,000.00 $15,500.00 $16,000.00 $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $32,000.00 $4,000.00 $3,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $7,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $4,000.00 $3,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $7,000.00 $500.00 $1,500.00 $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $2,500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $500.00 $1,500.00 $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $2,500.00 $0.00 $1,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1,000.00 $0.00 $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $500.00 $180,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $180,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $180,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $180,000.00 Advertising $0.00 $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $500.00 GIS Support $0.00 $1,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1,000.00 $0.00 $1,500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1,500.00 $200,000.00 $23,500.00 $1,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $224,500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Administration Environmental Review Subtotal Fringe Benefits Indirect Costs Subtotal Travel Mileage and Per diem Subtotal Equipment Laptop and GPS Subtotal Supplies Prevention Materials Subtotal Contractual Fuels Management Subtotal Other Subtotal Total Costs Project (Program) Income 1 (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.