Project Summary Form
Id Number 2006-119
NATIONAL FIRE PLAN COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE AND WILDLAND URBAN-INTERFACE PROJECTS
Application for Fuels Treatment Projects
Applicant
Applicant/Organization:
Dave Anderson/City of The Dalles
Phone: (111 111-1111 x 1111)
Type of Applicant: (enter appropriate letter in box)
C
541-298-1242 300
FAX: (111 111-1111 x 1111)
A. State
B. County
C. Municipal
D. Township
E. Interstate
541-298-2129
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):
6780 Reservoir Road The Dalles, OR 97058
Project Coordinator
Project Coordinator (Name and Title):
Mr. Dave Anderson Water Quality Manager
Organization/Jurisdiction:
City of The Dalles
Phone: (111 111-1111 x 1111)
541-298-1242 300
FAX: (111 111-1111 x 1111)
541-298-2129
Call Ahead For FAX
Email:
danderson@netcnct.net
Project Information
Project Title:
The Dalles Municipal Watershed Fuels Reduction
Proposed Project Start Date:
04/01/2006
Federal Funding Request:
$ 245,000
Proposed Project End Date:
12/31/2008
Total Project Funding:
$
286,500
Are you submitting multiple projects? If so, please explain and prioritize:
Single Project.
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).
Provide financial assistance for activities to reduce risk of catastrophic wildfire in The Dalles Watershed, managed for the protection of water quality
and source of 90% of the City's municipal water supplies. The School Marm Fire [1967] demonstrated that high-intensity wildfire in The Dalles
Watershed poses a tremendous risk to City-owned water-control infrastructure and public health. The area is currently at extreme risk of highintensity wildfire due to declining forest health and increased fuel loadings. Forest health has declined due to a combination of drought, root disease,
and insect infestations and the encroachment of Grand Fir into drier ecosystems. Award of this grant to the City will enable the treatment of a
significant area that might otherwise continue toward characteristics conducive to high-intensity wildfires. The School Marm burn is currently overstocked with scrub oak. Columbia Gorge winds create extreme fire behavior in this area [Sheldon Ridge Fire, 2002].
Project Location:
Latitude: 45.539
Longitude: 121.316
County:
Wasco
Name of Federal, State or Tribal contact with whom you coordinated this proposal:
Federal Congressional District:
2
Telephone number of Contact:
David Jacobs, ODF Unit Forester
541-296-4626 Ext.
Mike Hernandez, USFS District Ranger
541-467-5101 Ext.
Larry Potts, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
541-553-1131 Ext. 227
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?
Coordination with Wasco County Community Wildfire Protection Plan currently under development.
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 427
Treatment
Acres 0
Treatment Hand Pile Burning
Acres 256
Treatment
Acres 0
If you have a treatment type other than standard types above:
Other 1 Lopping/pruning
Acres 256
Other 2
Acres 0
Project Location: The area to be treated is City-owned property located within The Dalles Municipal Watershed on South Fork Mill Creek in Wasco
County, between the Mt. Hood National Forest boundary and Mill Creek Falls, and on City-owned property along South Fork Mill Creek above the
Forest Boundary. Treatment of these lands will reduce the risk of wildfire moving from or through City-owned property to adjacent private lands or
federal lands and also reduce the risk to City-owned resources from fires originating on adjacent lands.
Anticipated Outcomes: This project will significantly reduce the risk that catastrophic wildfire on City-owned lands within The Dalles Watershed will
compromise public health or drinking water availability as a result of sedimentation and turbidity that could occur after a high-intensity wildfire due to
reduced vegetative interception, exposed mineral soils, and elevated peak flows. It will reduce the likelihood that fires on the City's property will
develop into high-intensity fires by reducing the rate of ground spread and access to fuels. This will benefit adjacent landowners, both public and
private, by reducing the risks from wildfires which originate on or move onto City-owned lands. It is also likely that the behavior of fires originating on
adjacent lands will be altered when moving onto City-owned properties, with reductions in rate of spread, spotting, and intensity. The project will
reduce the risk to identified northern spotted owl activity centers and threatened winter steelhead habitat from wildfire by reducing fuels and
improving forest health around them. This project will also result in augmented local employment and increased use of forest resources that would
otherwise be unavailable to local forest products companies.
Community Partners/Roles: City of The Dalles, utilizing a contractual forest management consultant and coordinating with ODF, will design, layout,
contract and manage the project. Project will go through ESA Section 7 consultation with USFS and USFWS. Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs are currently being consulted to explore potential for biomass utilization from this project.
Project Relationship to Risk Assessment Plan: The Wasco County Community Wildfire Protection Plan, scheduled for completion in spring 2006,
will identify The Dalles Watershed project as a high priority. Also, the Gorge Wildfire Local Coordinating Group is currently developing a four-county
community risk assessment and mitigation plan. In addition to City of The Dalles, two member agencies of that Group, ODF and USFS, have
expressed concerns about fire risks within The Dalles Watershed and support the project. It is anticipated that this project will be consistent with
recommendations developed in the mitigation plan.
Extent of Actions: 483 acres of mixed conifer stands have been identified for fuels reduction/forest health improvement treatments; approximately
70% of those stands will be treated. In addition, an estimated 200 acres of the School Marm Fire burn will be treated to reduce the stocking levels of
scrub oak. 12,000 people served by the City's water system will benefit from this project.
Timeline/Funds: Work to be completed between April 1, 2006 and December 31, 2008 and will accommodate seasonal restrictions for northern
spotted owls where appropriate. No net income expected; sale of any merchantable logs will support the project and local opportunities for bio-mass
utilization are being explored [Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs]. Matching funds will include applicant's in-kind contributions for project
planning, lay-out, contracting, and implementation totaling at least $31,500 and an estimated $10,000 from sale of merchantable logs from stands
with a significant Grand Fir understory where treatment costs far exceed revenue.
Ability to Complete Project: If successful in the grant, the City will budget for the project in its 2006-07 and 2007-08 fiscal years. The City has a
substantial track record of successfully completing forest management, water supply protection, and stream mitigation projects in partnership with
other agencies. Examples include development and implementation of a Habitat Conservation Plan for northern spotted owls with USFWS and
USFS, construction of fish passage and screening facilities at its water treatment plant intake [two joint projects with ODFW and OWEB in 2001 and
2003] and six fish passage mitigation projects in Mill Creek, one of which was in partnership with The Dalles Area Watershed Council and OWEB.
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:
Community Infrastructure Protected: Primary resources that will be protected by this project are the municipal water supply for The
Dalles and associated public health within the community. The City's dam and reservoir located within the project area would be at
reduced risk of damage and sedimentation from a catastrophic fire. The project would reduce the wildfire risks to the City's water
treatment plant. Public safety and the environment would be at reduced risk from a wildfire-caused release of toxic chemicals
stored at the treatment plant.
This project will also reduce the risks to resources on adjacent federal lands. Most adjacent federal lands within The Dalles
Watershed are currently identified as being in a Fire Condition Class 3 and at extreme risk of experiencing a catastrophic standreplacing fire. The resources of concern on the federal lands are protection of water quality, Late Successional Reserve
Management Areas, a designated Research Natural Area, a remote automated weather station, and communications
infrastructure.
Reducing Fire Behavior: The City has been actively undertaking projects over the last decade to reduce fuel loadings and improve
forest health through commercial harvest activities within the Watershed while protecting water quality [1996, 1999, & 2003 City of
The Dalles forest health commercial harvest activities]. There is a need for pre-commercial thinning in younger stands, thinning
from below in more mature stands where overstocking occurs and encroaching Grand Fir can be selectively removed, removal of
dead/dying trees which are predominantly Grand Fir, and pre-commercial thinning of oak stands. There is also a need to reduce
fuels loading and ladder fuels. These funds would be used as cost-share assistance to treat City-owned lands to reduce fire fuels
and improve forest health through non-commercial activities to control understory vegetation and stocking levels, reduce fuels, and
manage tree species back toward natural conditions. Most work will be done in spring and fall months recognizing seasonal
restrictions for northern spotted owls as appropriate, with any burning being done in the winter.
Maintenance: It is anticipated that the benefits of this project will last 15 or more years; similar thinning projects on adjacent USFS
lands have lasted over 20 years and are still in good condition. This project will address treatment of most of the City-owned lands
within the South Fork Mill Creek watershed. The US Forest Service is currently undertaking a collaborative planning process that
will make recommendations for management of federal lands within the North and South Forks Mill Creek. Any recommended fire
risk reduction activities on the federal lands that come out of that process could lead to completion of treatment in nearly all of The
Dalles Municipal Watershed thereby significantly reducing the current risks to public health and identified federal resources. Once
fuel hazards have been mitigated within The Dalles Municipal Watershed, the City and the USFS will work jointly to explore options
to maintain the mitigation work and promote forest conditions more reflective of historical fire regimes while protecting water
quality.
Multi-party Monitoring: The City and the USFS jointly manage the Watershed for the protection of water quality. Both parties will
continue to monitor forest conditions semi-annually to identify potential risks to water quality and evaluate proactive management
options. The City is a member of The Dalles Area Watershed Council who has placed significant emphasis on protecting the
stream-related resources of the Mill Creek watershed as water supply for the City of The Dalles and home to threatened winter
steelhead. Information from this project will be made available to the Gorge Wildfire Local Coordinating Group through ODF to
assist in evaluating future proposed mitigation plans.
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:
Improve Local Economy: City is working with Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to explore potential for biomass utilization to
power a lumber mill. This utilization will help secure limited mill jobs in the area. 1 or 2 contractors will be hired by the City to
complete this project in an area where timber jobs are scarce.
Number of Jobs: Project will emphasize hiring of local contractors and is estimated to employ between 6 and 15 people seasonally
for 1-2 years. Additionally, one contractual forest management consultant will be hired to design and lay-out the project, ensuring
that the project objectives are achieved while protecting water quality.
Tools/Skills: Activities will include pre-commercial thinning and some commercial thinning from below for stocking and species
control, pruning, machine and hand piling, and burning; possibly chipping and hauling. The commercial thinning is planned for stands
where costs far exceed revenue. Project will boost local seasonal employment and give new workers an opportunity to develop
timber-related skills. Equipment used will include mechanical harvesters, mechanical mulchers, chainsaws, pruning loppers, possibly
chippers and trucks.
Biomass Utilization: Potential for biomass utilization is being determined as this time. Opportunities for utilization of biomass as logs,
fuel, chips, poles, or firewood will all be evaluated at the time of the project and will be the preferred method of disposal. Some onsite burning will occur.
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:
Tie-in w/ Mitigation Plan: The Wasco County Community Wildfire Protection Plan [Spring 2006 completion, contact: Dave JacobsODF] will identify The Dalles Watershed project as a high priority. Also, two members of the Gorge Wildfire Local Coordinating
Group, ODF and USFS, have expressed concerns about fire risks within The Dalles Watershed. This project will be consistent with
recommendations developed in the mitigation plan.
Coordination w/ Adjacent Landowners: The City and the USFS jointly manage The Dalles Watershed for the protection of water
quality; both parties support reducing the risks of catastrophic wildfire. The other major landowner in the Watershed, an industrial
forestland owner, has expressed strong support for fuels and fire-risk reduction activities on both City and USFS lands in the area.
The City and the industrial landowner are serving on a collaborative planning committee convened by the USFS to help identify
management issues on the USFS lands in the Watershed.
Partners: City of The Dalles, utilizing a contractual forest management consultant and consulting with ODF, will design, layout,
contract and manage the project. Project will go through ESA Section 7 consultation with USFS and USFWS. Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs are being consulted to explore potential for biomass utilization from this project.
Local Support: This project has received local support from ODF, the agency charged with fire protection on these lands. It is
expected that the project will be supported by The Dalles Area Watershed Council and the Gorge Wildfire Local Coordinating
Group. Matching funds will include applicant's in-kind contributions for project planning, lay-out, contracting, and implementation
totaling $31,500 and $10,000 from sale of merchantable logs.
Project Work Form
Tasks
Time Frame
Submit project for ESA Section 7 consultation.
Responsible Party
City, contracted forester. USFS and
USFWS to assist.
Upon notification of award
Layout project, mark units and trees.
City, contracted forester
4/1/06 thru 11/30/08
Develop contract bid packets, bid project,
award contracts.
City
4/1/06 thru 7/31/06
Contractors. Project supervision by
City and contracted forester.
Precommercial thinning, commercial thinning
from below, pruning, piling, cover piles.
7-1-06 thru 11/30-08 (spring, early
Chipping/hauling if feasible.
Contractors, Confederated Tribes
7-1-06 thru 11/30/08
Contractors, contracted forester
Burn piles in winter.
Dec 06, 07, 08
Grant admininstration
City
4-1-06 thru 12-31-08
Project Budget
Cost Category
Description
Federal
Agency
Applicant
Partner 1
Partner 2
Total
Partner 3
Personnel
City
$1,500
$0
$0
$0
$6,562
$18,438
$0
$0
$0
$25,000
$6,562
$19,938
$0
$0
$0
$26,500
$0
$0
$0
$0
Contractual forester
Subtotal
$1,500
Fringe Benefits
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$600
$0
$0
$0
$600
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$600
$0
$0
$0
$0
$600
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
Fuels reduction, thinning
$238,438
$10,000
$0
$0
$0
$248,438
$0
$0
$0
$0
$238,438
$0
$10,000
$0
Subtotal
$0
$0
$0
$248,438
$0
$10,962
$0
$0
$0
$10,962
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$10,962
$0
$0
$0
$10,962
$245,000
$41,500
$0
$0
$0
$286,500
$0
$10,000
$0
$0
$0
$10,000
Subtotal
Travel
City
$0
Subtotal
Equipment
Subtotal
Supplies
Subtotal
Contractual
Other
In-kind services by City
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.