Project Summary Form
Id Number 2006-048
NATIONAL FIRE PLAN COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE AND WILDLAND URBAN-INTERFACE PROJECTS
Application for Fuels Treatment Projects
Applicant
Applicant/Organization:
Ponderosa Pines Property Owners Association
Phone: (111 111-1111 x 1111)
Type of Applicant: (enter appropriate letter in box)
L
541-536-0710
FAX: (111 111-1111 x 1111)
A. State
B. County
C. Municipal
D. Township
E. Interstate
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):
15349 Ponderosa Lp
LaPine, OR 97739
Project Coordinator
Project Coordinator (Name and Title):
Mr. James Anderson Chairman of the Board
Organization/Jurisdiction:
Ponderosa Pines Property Owners Association
Phone: (111 111-1111 x 1111)
541-536-0710
FAX: (111 111-1111 x 1111)
Call Ahead For FAX
Email:
jim_anderson@bendnet.com
Project Information
Project Title:
Ponderosa Pines Fuels Reduction
Proposed Project Start Date:
04/01/2006
Federal Funding Request:
$ 198,860
Proposed Project End Date:
10/31/2007
Total Project Funding:
$
308,576
Are you submitting multiple projects? If so, please explain and prioritize:
Multiple projects are not being submitted. This fuels treatment project is phase II of a tentatively selected fuels treatment project in the 2005
NFP grant process.
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 Ponderosa Pines Subdivision in LaPine, OR is applying for a fuels treatment grant to achieve the goal of being at a cost-effective level of
preparedness in firefighting and prevention. Reducing the fire risk in wildland/urban interface areas is one of the primary goals along with working
with the community to reduce the risk of a catastrophic fire within the community itself by creating defensible space around the homes. We will also
provide an increased capacity to fight potential fires by creating improved access and staging areas for firefighters and their equipment. It will prove
to be an extremely cost-effective option in fighting potential fires. Improvements will also be made to the evacuation routes in case of fire. There will
be decreases in loss of life, firefighter injuries and damage to communities, municipal watersheds and the environment from severe, unplanned
wildfires.
Project Location:
Latitude: 43.696
Longitude: 121.695
County:
Deschutes
Name of Federal, State or Tribal contact with whom you coordinated this proposal:
Federal Congressional District:
2
Telephone number of Contact:
Stu Otto - OR Department of Forestry
541-447-5658 Ext.
Tim Bisby - USFS, Deschutes National Forest
541-383-4732 Ext.
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?
Ponderosa Pines Property Owners Association
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) Yes
Please indicate planned treatments and associated acres:
* Treatment Thinning
Acres 177
Treatment
Acres 0
Treatment
Acres 0
Treatment
Acres 0
If you have a treatment type other than standard types above:
Other 1 Shaded Fuel Break
Acres 177
Other 2
Acres 0
This project is located in the Ponderosa Pines Subdivision of LaPine, OR, next to the Deschutes National Forest and Crown Pacific managed lands.
Ponderosa Pines has developed a community management prescription. Its objective is to design forest management practices to mitigate fire risk
on Forest Service, Crown Pacific properties and the Ponderosa Pines community, and create an interface area between the Forest Service,
Ponderosa Pines and Crown Pacific where modified forest management will be practiced. This project is being developed to reduce the risk of
wildfires in Ponderosa Pines through reduction of fuels within the community and the creation of fire-resistant buffers around the community. It will
also increase the capacity to fight potential fires through the creation of defensible space around structures and improved access and staging for fire
fighters and their equipment. Thirdly, it will improve the evacuation routes in case of fire. Fourthly, it will focus on the development of a fire resistant
forest ecosystem and create a healthy forest, as described in the Forest Health Restoration Act. A local coordination group exists and is composed
of the following with their respective roles: The Ponderosa Pines Property Owners Association, a non-profit organization - project coordination,
volunteer labor, funding for equipment and funding for labor. Deschutes NF - creation of a fuel reduction buffer adjacent to Ponderosa Pines.
Midstate Electric - hazardous fuels reduction and improved vehicle access in utility right-of-ways. Northwest Environmental Consulting Services consulting services including fuels mitigation prescriptions. Forest/Urban Land Classification Committee - risk assessment. Four areas have been
addressed to create a relationship between this project and the community risk assessment and mitigation plan. The first is a RAM [risk assessment
mitigation] strategy being developed by the Deschutes NF, which will be used for risk assessment, monitoring and required mitigation measures
needed to lower the potential for wildfire. Secondly, Ponderosa Pines has developed a community management area and management prescription.
Its objective is to: 1] design forest management practices to mitigate fire risk on Crown Pacific properties and the Ponderosa Pines community 2]
create an interface area between Ponderosa Pines and Crown Pacific where modified forest management will be practiced 3] create a fire resistant
forest ecosystem and a healthy forest as described in the Forest Health Restoration Act. The third area is focused on reducing the risks of
catastrophic fire. The consensus of the interagency Forest/Urban Land Classification Committee is that Ponderosa Pines warrants the high-density
extreme classification. The fourth area to be addressed is establishing and maintaining a high level of accountability by projecting this project longterm, expected to last at least five years with on-going maintenance. The project is designed to implement the current and future mitigation plans.
These mitigation plans focus on four goals and this project contributes to all of them: 1] reducing fuel loads within the community 2] creating a fireresistant buffer around the community 3] increasing the ability to fight fires within and around the community 4] improving evacuation routes.
Ponderosa Pines is comprised of 1,000 acres, including 188 commons acres, 491 private lots, 350 residences and approximately 1200 residents.
The timeline for this project follows: Crown Pacific has cleared a fire buffer on two sides of Ponderosa Pines. Deschutes NF completed their fuels
reduction prescription of thinning the land bordering Ponderosa Pines in 2004. The following is planned for the spring of 2006. Ponderosa Pines
volunteers and staff will notify landowners and request a right to access personal property. They will develop a contract and finish the field layout.
Hazardous fuels will be treated, using appropriate methods [thinning, pruning, biomass removal and fuel treatment maintenance], to reduce the risk
of wildfire in communities, watersheds and the environment. Defensible space will be constructed on the private lots. Within the defensible space,
the trees will be spaced to a minimum of 12' by 12', all trees will be pruned to a height of 16 feet or 50% of the crown remaining, and all understory
stems and brush will be removed. Fire adapted ecosystems will be restored, rehabilitated and maintained, using appropriate tools, in a manner that
will provide sustainable environmental, social, and economic benefits. The community and municipal watershed at risk will decrease the chance of
severe losses from wildfire and gain the potential to seek economic opportunities from treatment services. Contributed funds to date total $88,200:
Crown Pacific - $56,000, Midstate Electric - $7,000, Ponderosa Pines Property Owners Association - $18,400, Ponderosa Pines volunteer labor $6,800. The projected matching funds for 2006 total $109,716: Midstate Electric - $7,000, Ponderosa Pines Property Owners Association - $3,500,
landowners - $99,216 on volunteer labor. Ponderosa Pines Property Owners Association and the local coordination group has demonstrated its
concern and willingness to implement fuels reduction and fire mitigation by reducing fuels on commons and on interface borders within the
community. We have local and governmental support and motivation to complete this project.
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:
The community infrastructure to be protected by this project includes: roads, homes, and a community water system, which
includes storage tanks and distribution lines, powerlines, phones lines and cable lines, as well as emergency power for the water
system. The current vegetation consists of heavily overstocked stands, with Ponderosa Pine in the overstory and Lodgepole and
Bitterbrush in the understory. The goal is to convert thick understory stands to stands containing shaded fuel breaks, which consist
of open stands of Ponderosa Pine in the overstory with an under-growth of grass and low growing brush, and to eliminate ladder
fuels and high fuel concentrations. This project will also concentrate on the continuation of creating a fire resistant buffer around
the community and reduction of hazardous fuels in the 177 acres on the private lots in the community. Down wood, dead or dying
trees, brush and live trees will be removed. The boundary buffer with Crown Pacific has already been created on two sides, with
the exception of brush removal. The fire regime in the area is at a rating of 1 and the fuel condition class is at a rating of 3. We
intend to remove the brush in the summer of 2006 and maintain the buffer as brush-free in the future. The removal of the brush
and fuel concentration will lower the fuel condition class to a rating of 1. The Deschutes National Forest intends to create a fire
resistant buffer on its border in the spring and summer of 2005. The majority of the mitigation effort for 2006 will concentrate on
hazardous fuel removal on private lots. In the spring of 2006, Ponderosa Pines volunteers and staff will survey and flag all project
areas, develop a contract and complete the field layout. Then contractors will be hired to implement this prescription by the end of
the following summer. The prescription will include, hazardous fuels being treated, using appropriate methods, to reduce the risk
of unplanned and unwanted wildfire in communities, watersheds and the environment. Defensible space will be constructed on the
private lots. Within the defensible space, the trees will be spaced to a minimum of 12' by 12', all trees will be pruned to a height of
16 feet or 50% of the crown remaining, and all understory stems and brush will be removed. Fire adapted ecosystems will be
restored, rehabilitated and maintained, using appropriate tools, in a manner that will provide sustainable environmental, social, and
economic benefits. The local coordination group will maintain the buffer around the community and the commons as a fire
resistant area. Crown Pacific and the Property Owners Association already have an agreement to maintain the buffer. The
commons will be maintained through periodic thinning, pruning and brushing. The local coordinating group will monitor the
effectiveness of mitigation efforts in the future. The US Forest Service will use RAMS to monitor fire cost, fire starts and fire size to
determine the effectiveness of treatment. A mowing program will be put in place to maintain minimal levels of ground and brush
fuels in order to prevent excessive fuel loading that would increase fire intensity, adding to the potential of a catastrophic fire. The
Property Owners Association has committed to training and certifying two residents as fire-risk assessors. Bankcorp Insurance
Company, The Forest/Urban Land Classification Committee and Northwest Environmental Consulting Services will monitor the fuel
loading in the treated areas, as well as prioritize other high risk areas for future treatment.
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:
This proposal is estimated to require 8 full-time contract workers that will be utilized for 130 workdays to implement fuels reduction in
2006 on the private lots within the community. The contract workers to be hired will be local to the LaPine area, which will stimulate
the local economy. It is estimated that 10 local residents will be hired to survey and flag treatment areas for 100 workdays for 2006.
This will be an ongoing fuels reduction project for at least 5 years. The maintenance of treated areas will continue indefinitely
creating some sustainable economic activity. Most jobs created by this project will be seasonal. Chainsaws, commercial mowers
and chippers will be utilized, as well as a log splitter. All of the biomass will be utilized either in the form of woodchips for landscaping
and walking paths through the commons areas or for firewood for the local community or low income individuals in the area. 177
acres will be thinned producing approximately 7.3 tons/acre.
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 existing community risk assessment and mitigation plans. Current plans include: The risk assessment
mitigation strategy for the Deschutes National Forest, which was revised in 2004 and The Ponderosa Pines Interface Management
Area Agreement, written in 2003. Local contacts are Tim Bisby and James Anderson, respectively. These plans require fuels
reduction, community awareness and education, increased fire-fighting capacity and improved fire evacuation routes. This project
contributes to these goals by reducing fuel loads by creating shaded fuel breaks around the properties and clearing access routes
and staging areas for fire fighters. Treatment has been coordinated with adjacent landowners and all other invested parties, which
include Crown Pacific, Bankcorp Insurance Company, Northwest Environmental Consulting Services, Midstate Electric Cooperative,
OR Department of Forestry and the US Forest Service. Letters of cooperation have been signed between The Ponderosa Pines
Property Owners Association and these invested parties. Local support for fuels reduction in and around the community includes
the following: Crown Pacific - $56,000, Midstate Electric - $7,000, Ponderosa Pines Property Owners Association - $18,400,
Ponderosa Pines volunteer labor - $6,800. In 2005, the Deschutes National Forest has committed to creating a fire resistant
interface with Ponderosa Pines. Midstate Electric has committed to spend $7,000 on maintaining and reducing fuels in the right-ofways. Ponderosa Pines Property Owners Association has committed to spending $3,500 on contracted labor and the landowners
have committed $99,216 on volunteer labor for fuels reduction. An agreement was also made with Crown Pacific to maintain the
buffers around the community.
Project Work Form
Tasks
Time Frame
Notify landowners and request a right to
access private property.
Responsible Party
Ponderosa Pines Property Owners
Association
April 2006
Flag property according to mitigation
prescriptions.
Ponderosa Pines Property Owners
Association
April 2006
Contract development and field layout.
Ponderosa Pines Property Owners
Association
May 2006
Ponderosa Pines Property Owners
Association
Award contract to successful contractor.
June 2006
Contract operation.
Successful contractor
June 2006 - Nov. 2007
Project Budget
Midstate Electric
Cost Category
Description
Federal
Agency
Applicant
Landowner
Partner 1
Partner 2
Total
Partner 3
Personnel
Administration
$8,850
Labor
Subtotal
$0
$0
$17,240
$0
$26,090
$0
$0
$0
$64,000
$0
$64,000
$8,850
$0
$0
$81,240
$0
$90,090
$0
$0
$0
Fringe Benefits
Subtotal
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$976
$0
$976
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$976
$0
$976
$0
$0
$0
$4,000
$0
$4,000
$0
$0
$0
$13,000
$0
$13,000
$0
$0
$0
$17,000
$0
$17,000
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$177,000
$3,500
$7,000
$0
$0
$187,500
$13,010
$0
$3,500
$0
$0
$0
$13,010
$190,010
$7,000
$0
$0
$200,510
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$198,860
$3,500
$7,000
$99,216
$0
$308,576
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
Travel
Mileage
$0
Subtotal
Equipment
saw
mower/chipper
Subtotal
Supplies
Subtotal
Contractual
Fuel Reduction Contract
Grant Writing Contract
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.