Enclosure 3A - Project Summary Form
NATIONAL FIRE PLAN COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE AND WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE PROJECTS
Application for Wildland Urban Interface Fuels / Education and
Prevention / Community Planning for Fire Protection Projects
Applicant
Applicant/Organization:
Oregon Department of Forestry
Phone:
503.945.7341
FAX:
503.945.7454
Address (Street or P. O. Box, City, State, Zip) :
2600 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97310
Email:
Sboro@odf.state.or.us
Project Coordinator
Project Coordinator (Name and Title):
Jasen X. King, Management Unit Forester
Organization/Jurisdiction:
Oregon Department of Forestry, Southwest Oregon District, Grants Pass Unit
Phone:
541.474.3152
FAX:
541.474.3158
Project Information
Email:
Jking@odf.state.or.us
Project Title:
Southwest Oregon State Forests Young Stand Fuels Reduction
Project Start:
July, 2003
Project End:
December, 2007
Federal Funding Request:
$685,000
Total Project Funding:
$1,350,000
Are you submitting multiple projects? If so, please explain and prioritize:
Yes – Priority # 22 in Fuels Treatment Category
Brief Project Description:
The primary goal of the proposed projects is to reduce current fuel loads across the Southwest Oregon District
State Forests’ young stand land base in order to facilitate fire suppression prior to fire reaching neighboring communities, residences, or critical resources at risk (i.e. northern spotted owls, recreational resources, points of interest, etc.). These projects are essential hazardous fuels treatment for young stands on State Forest land in Southwest Oregon that have been reforested and pre-commercially thinned to promote tree health and growth. While producing healthy young stands, these past treatments have created extremely high fuel loads and increased the potential for stand replacing wildfire events. These stands are all within 0 to 12 miles of communities at risk, scattered wildland urban interface residences, and less than 3 miles from other critical resources at risk. Hazardous fuel reduction projects will include abatement treatments such as thinning, hand piling, and burning. The District is proposing to use local handcrews to thin and pile these hazardous fuels while District personnel will burn the piles.
Project Location:
Southwest Oregon District
County: Curry, Douglas,
Josephine and Jackson
Congressional District:
Oregon #1, #2, #3, #4, #5
Project Type: Check appropriate project type. More than one type may be checked. If only Box (4) is checked, use Enclosure 4.
(1) X Wildland Urban Interface Fuels Project
(2) Wildland Urban Interface Education and Prevention Project
(3) Community Planning for Fire Protection Project
(4) Fuels Utilization and Marketing Project
If the applicant is an unincorporated area, define the geographic area being represented:

Enclosure 3B (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, and 12-pitch font.
Describe project including, but not limited to:
Address these items as applicable:

Project location

Project implementation

Anticipated outcomes

Measures and reporting

Partners


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 project income project time frames specify types of activities and equipment used amount or extent of actions (acres, number of homes, etc) environmental, cultural and historical resource requirements
Response: The year 2002 will be remembered as one of the most destructive wildfire seasons in Oregon’s history. Entire wilderness areas were consumed within weeks, costing millions of dollars in property value and revenue. Many endangered plant and animal species were killed or dislocated. Catastrophic wildfires threatened not only rural residences, but entire communities. The project areas selected for treatment are within close proximity to many of these communities.
These project areas have been broken into four Hazardous Fuel Reduction Zones to describe their locations and range north from the Oregon-California boarder to south of Canyonville. The combined acreage of the four Hazard Fuel Reduction Zones identified for treatment is 4,440 acres. The North Zone abatement project areas are located 2 to 10 miles from communities such as Azalea, Glendale, Ruben, Quines Creek, Sunny
Valley, and Wolf Creek. The Biscuit Zone project areas are located 5 to 8 miles from Agness, Cave Junction,
Kerby, O’Brien, and Selma. The Central Zone project areas are located 2 to 6 miles from Galice, Grants Pass,
Merlin, and Wilderville. The Scattered Zone project areas are located 2 to 14 miles from Griffin Creek,
Jacksonville, historic Marial, Star, Tiller, and Trail.
Each project area will have documented management goals and site specific prescriptions prior to treatment.
Oregon Department of Forestry State Forest personnel will monitor all projects. Project areas will have calculated pre treatment and post treatment fuel loadings and will be monitored over time until the stand is no longer at risk of stand replacing wildfire, or a threat to adjacent communities, residences, or critical resources.
Future hazardous fuel reduction projects will be proposed and implemented based on the results of monitoring efforts. Projects will be conducted in compliance with smoke management in accordance with
Oregon State Law and DEQ regulations.
Oregon Department of Forestry, Southwest Oregon District State Forests personnel, will conduct implementation and administration of these hazardous fuel reduction projects. The use of local 10 to 20 person crews will be the primary means of completing the project work. These crews will use chain saws to reduce vegetative stocking levels and cut other flammable materials (i.e. slash). Crews will hand-pile fuel accumulations and State Forest personnel will burn piles with drip-torches when weather conditions permit.
The Oregon Department of Forestry anticipates a large reduction in current fuel loads within project areas as a result of the treatments. Additional results of these projects include reduced vegetative stocking levels, significant decreases of ladder fuels, and decreased surface fuel continuity and loading. This combination of results greatly reduces the risk of high intensity stand replacing fires, reduces the potential exposure hours for suppression crews, reduces the likelihood of wildfires originating from or spreading across State Forests young stands, and thus reduces the likelihood of adjacent communities, residences, and critical resources being further placed at risk due to nearby State Forests young stands.
Income to the Oregon Department of Forestry is not anticipated. The projects will be completed over a fouryear period beginning in July 2003 and ending in December 2007. Approximately one quarter of the project work will be accomplished per year.
These projects will positively influence thousands of southern Oregon residents through the reduction of wildland fuels and will be conducted in conjunction with the current NFP grant supported Home Assessment
Program. In addition, historical, cultural, and environmental resources will benefit, as the likelihood of catastrophic wildfire in these areas will be significantly reduced.

Enclosure 3B (Page 2 of 3) - Project Evaluation Criteria
Applications for funding must include narrative responses that address the following four criteria. Within each criterion, subcriteria are listed in descending order of importance. Limit your responses to the areas provided .
1. Reducing Fire Risk. (40 points) )
A.
Describe how the proposal promotes reduction of risk in high hazard areas or communities.
B.
Describe how the proposed project benefits resources on federal land or adjacent non-federal land, or how it protects the safety of communities.
C.
To what extent does the project implement or create a cooperative fuels treatment plan or community fire strategy (include evidence of the plan if it already exists)?
D.
Explain to what extent the affected community or proponent has been involved or plans to involve the affected community in a qualified fuels education program (e.g., FIREWISE).
E.
Explain how the proposal (a) leads to, enhances or restores a local fire-adapted ecosystem, and/or (b) mitigates or leads to the mitigation of hazardous fuel conditions.
F.
How will the proposed treatments be maintained over time?
Response: This proposal will greatly reduce the fuel loading within project areas, and thus decrease fire activity and intensity. With a significant decrease in intensity, suppression crews will be able to quickly and safely stop fire spread before homes and other critical resources are jeopardized. Project areas are adjacent to both private and federal ownership. Project priority will be determined based on proximity to residences, ongoing federal hazardous fuel reduction projects, and areas with critical resource values.
These projects will be supplemental to the current programs in place in southern Oregon. These include the
NFP Home Assessment Program, FIREWISE, USFS and BLM hazardous fuel reduction projects, and the current Oregon Department of Forestry hazardous fuel reduction program.
The proposed fuels reduction projects were chosen because of the current young forest condition, the current high fuel loading, and the potential for frequent fire intervals. The projects are in young stands that have had management prescriptions to increase tree health and growth. The scope of the projects is to remove hazardous fuels resulting from previous management prescriptions. The proposed treatment of these stands will increase the likelihood of them returning to healthy mature stands that are able to resist natural low intensity wildfires.
All areas will be monitored over time and additional prescriptions will be developed to maintain fuel loads at acceptable levels. Future prescriptions will be based on risk to adjacent communities, residences, and critical resources as well as the likelihood of a stand replacing wildfire event.
2.
Increasing local capacity. (30 points )
A.
How would the proposal improve or lead to the improvement of the local economy in terms of jobs and sustainable economic activity? How many jobs are expected to be created or retained and for how long (please distinguish between essentially yearround and seasonal jobs)?
B.
To what extent will this project be offered to serve as a model for other communities?
C.
Will biomass or forest fuels be utilized; if so, in what manner and how much?
Response: Southern Oregon has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Due to the high fire frequency within the region many local contractors have 10 to 20 person crews, which are employed only during summer months. These projects would provide local contractors with winter employment opportunities for seasonal firefighters, and contribute approximately $165,000 per year to the local economy.
These projects could potentially provide 20 to 40 winter positions over a four-year period.
The Oregon Department of Forestry manages State Forests to provide a variety of social, economic, and environmental benefits to the people of Oregon. Neighboring landowners, both private and federal, often view State Forest management as the State’s interpretation of State Forest policy application. In addition, many interested citizens visit State Forests. These projects in each Hazardous Fuel Reduction Zone provide an opportunity to reach different segments of the public and serve as models for fuels management in young stands. Following the historic 2002 fire season in southern Oregon, the time couldn’t be better to embark on this mission to educate the interested public through active fuels management.
While it is anticipated that biomass and fuels will not be commercially utilized, local entrepreneurs seeking access to resulting products will be given consideration based on State Forest product policies.

Enclosure 3B (Page 3 of 3) - Project Evaluation Criteria
3.
Increasing interagency and intergovernmental coordination. (15 Points)
A.
Describe how this project implements a local intergovernmental strategy plan, or creates such a plan. Describe the plan if it already exists.
B.
Explain the level of cooperation, coordination or strategic planning among federal, state, tribal, local government and community organizations. List the cooperators.
Response: The Southwest Oregon District and Douglas Forest Protective Association Fire Protection
Programs have been extremely active in the development and implementation of local fire plans. The proposed project areas occur within several district fire planning administrative areas. The areas include the
Sunny Wolf, Middle Rogue, Seven Basins, Applegate, and Illinois Valley. In addition, these project areas are either located within or adjacent to BLM and USFS lands in the Glendale, Grants Pass, and Ashland Resource
Areas; and the Umpqua, Rogue River, and Siskiyou National Forests. The primary goal was to select project areas that will provide the greatest benefit to both the regional residences and landscape by complimenting other fuels reduction projects or by directly mitigating the hazardous fuel condition. The proposed project areas are excellent opportunities for State Forest lands adjacent to private and federal ownerships to contribute to the overall landscape heath and security from catastrophic wildfire. The intent of these projects is to address and complement current federal projects and local programs such as the Home Assessment
Program. Federal agencies have also created Task Orders and used ODF crews to complete some of their ongoing projects. The District is planning to use personnel involved in the Federal Task Orders to complete some of the proposed projects and apply the valuable training the crews have learned on State Forest lands.
While current cooperation between different agencies and private landowners is excellent, these programs are in still their early stages, thus making this is a great opportunity for State Forests to become part of the region’s overall Hazard Fuel Reduction programs. Current cooperators consist of the USFS, BLM, Josephine
County, Douglas Forest Protection Agency, rural fire districts, and many private landowners.
4.
Expanding Community Participation. (15 Points)
A.
To what extent have interested people and communities been provided an opportunity to become informed and involved in this proposal?
B.
Describe the extent of local support for the project, including any cost-sharing arrangements.
C.
What are the environmental, social and educational benefits of the project?
Response: Within the Southwest Oregon District there have been many outreach opportunities to local communities. The majority of the outreach has been through the Home Assessment Program, which provides local landowners the opportunity to offset some of the cost of fuel reduction on their property. Public interest has been high with the Home Evaluation Team submitting and completing approximately 4,000 grants to landowners for fuels reduction over a two-year period. With this proposal, the District is seeking a 50/50 cost share with federal grant monies. Most of the monies the District has invested are in the form of reducing ladder fuels, reducing the number of trees per acre, and reducing the amount of flammable vegetation.
The result of this proposal will bring significant environmental, social, and educational benefits. The environmental benefits will range from improvements in forest health to a future increase in critical habitat for threatened and endangered species and increases in fish and water quality by ensuring large tree growth in riparian management areas. Social benefits will be in the form of employment opportunities and a decreased potential for private landowner damages due to wildfire. Treatments within these stands will offer many educational benefits to the surrounding communities and interested citizens. These projects will create an excellent model for other landowners to learn how to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic wildfire - which often destroy communities, lives, livelihoods, and resources - through fuels modification. The District will use the results of these projects as educational opportunities for interested parties in Hazard Fuel Reduction.

Tasks
Complete fuels treatment in Central and Biscuit Zones
Enclosure 3C - Project Work Form
Time Frame
July, 2003 to June, 2004
Responsible Party
ODF State Forest Personnel and Contract Crews
Complete fuels treatment in Scattered
Zone
Begin fuels treatment in North Zone
July, 2004 to June, 2005
July, 2005 to June, 2006
ODF State Forest Personnel and Contract Crews
ODF State Forest Personnel and Contract Crews
Complete fuels treatment in North
Zone
July, 2006 to December, 2007 ODF State Forest Personnel and Contract Crews

Enclosure 3D - Project Budget
Cost Category
Description
Federal
Agency
Personnel
Subtotal
Fringe Benefits
Subtotal
Travel
Subtotal
Equipment
Subtotal
Supplies
Subtotal
13,986
13,986
6,014
6,014
Contractual
Subtotal
Other
Subtotal
Total Costs
Project (Program) Income 1
660,000
660,000
$685,000
5,000
5,000
Partner 1 Applicant
12,500
12,500
10,000
10,000
63,548
63,548
27,327
27,327
2,500
2,500
549,125
549,125
$665,000
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.
Partner 2 Total
77,534
33,341
12,500
10,000
7,500
1,209,125
$1,350,000