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: Applegate River Watershed Council (ARWC) Phone: FAX: Email: (541) 899-9982 (541) 8991256 staff@arwc.org Address (Street or P. O. Box, City, State, Zip): 6941 Upper Applegate Road, Jacksonville, Oregon 97530 Project Coordinator Project Coordinator (Name and Title): Kelly M. Droege, Forest Project Manager Organization/Jurisdiction: Applegate River Watershed Council (ARWC) Phone: FAX: Email: (541) 899-9982 ext.7 (541) 899-1256 kdroege@arwc.org Project Information Project Title: Slate/Applegate Fuel Reduction and Utilization Project Proposed Project Start Date: March 2004 (contingent upon funding availability) Proposed Project End Date: Fall 2006 Federal Funding Request: $54,197 Total Project Funding: $99,785 Are you submitting multiple projects? If so, please explain and prioritize: No Brief Project Description: The Applegate Fire Plan (AFP), released in 2002, provides a foundation from which to begin strategically implementing fuel reduction treatments throughout the 500,000-acre Applegate Watershed. A portion of the Slate Strategic Planning Area (SPA) in the northern-most part of the watershed, was designated a Strategic Treatment Area via federal fire hazard ratings. Approximately 37% of the SPA received a “High Hazard Rating”. The Slate/Applegate Fuel Reduction and Utilization Project seeks to mitigate the potential for the ignition and spread of severe wildfire by ramping up collaborative efforts between the BLM, the local fire district, ARWC and private landowners, to treat a contiguous block of private properties. Initial outreach will focus on providing residents with a better understanding of fire behavior, fire ecology, fuel reduction techniques and potential avenues for the marketing and utilization of resulting forest products. As a lead-in, a pilot fuel reduction project funded by Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board will be conducted in the target area in the spring 2003. Fuel reduction work performed on private land will be strategic in that it will compliment work done on adjacent federal land and will create a defensible fuel break along a major local highway. Partial funding for fuel reduction work will be administered to individual landowners, who will be expected to provide a percentage of in-kind funding or labor for work done on their properties. ARWC will promote the utilization of material derived from treatments by providing connectivity between landowners and local markets. Individual projects that marry fuel reduction and material utilization will be favored. Treatments will be tracked and monitored for effectiveness. Project Location (latitude/longitude if applicable): Applegate Watershed, Slate SPA County: Josephine Congressional District: Oregon #2 (Walden) Project Type: Check appropriate project type. More than one type may be checked. If only Box (4) is checked, use Enclosure 4. (1) Wildland Urban Interface Fuels Project (3) Community Planning for Fire Protection Project (2) Wildland Urban Interface Education and Prevention (4) Fuels Utilization and Marketing Project Project If the applicant is an unincorporated area, define the geographic area being represented: Southwestern Oregon, Applegate River Sub-Basin, Slate Creek Drainage 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, 12-pitch font. Describe project including, but not limited to: project location Address these project implementation items as anticipated outcomes applicable: measures and reporting interagency partners project relationship to community or natural landscape fire plans project time frames and income 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 2002 Applegate Fire Plan (AFP) provides a framework for strategically implementing fuel reduction treatments on a landscape-level in the 500,000-acre Applegate watershed. The Slate Creek sub-basin is identified in the AFP as a Strategic Planning Area. A portion of the SPA has been further delineated as a Strategic Treatment Area. This designation stems from the wildfire prone and adapted ecosystem, and the large wildland urban interface (WUI), coupled with a major highway (U.S. Route 199) transecting the basin. These characteristics greatly increase the potential for ignition and spread of severe wildfire in the basin. Slate Creek is a tributary of the Applegate River, which intersects Highway 199 five miles southwest of Grants Pass, Oregon. The land usage within the 28,412-acre watershed is a mix of public and private commercial forestlands in the upper elevations, and rural residential concentrated along the Route 199 corridor. Approximately 2,000 residents reside in the two unincorporated communities of Wilderville and Wonder in the Slate Creek basin. Within the Slate Strategic Planning Area, sites of high fire hazard have been identified and prioritized through the AFP, in conjunction with landscape-level planning documents developed by the Applegate River Watershed Council (ARWC) and Josephine County. Collaboration with private landowners, BLM, ODF and the local fire district, to expedite the reduction of fuels on contiguous properties will reduce the probability of ignition and spread of a catastrophic wildfire. Initial outreach will focus on educating local residents about fire behavior, fire ecology, fuel reduction techniques and potential avenues for the marketing and utilization of resulting forest products. Several landowners, with outstanding community rapport, have enthusiastically expressed interest in participating in this project. Through leveraging the involvement of these key individuals, fuel reduction work on private land will be strategic in that it will compliment work done on adjacent federal land to further reduce the potential for fire in the WUI, while creating a defensible fuel break along Route 199. Treatment types and amount of acreage treated will vary in accordance to ecological conditions (stand density, species composition & aspect), slope, and proximity of residences to Route 199. Fuel reduction will concentrate on private land adjacent to 1.5 linear miles of Route 199. The approximate acreage treated will be between 100 and 200 acres, and will directly affect several hundred adjoining acres. Proposed fuel reduction techniques may include hand crews (lop & scatter, thinning from below, piling & burning) and machine maceration depending on ecological conditions and landowner preference. Work will begin in the fall/winter of 2004, contingent upon funding, and will be completed within a calendar year. To evaluate fuel reduction treatments, several types of monitoring are to be utilized. Baseline monitoring will occur before treatment work begins to document existing vegetation conditions. These data will allow for relative comparison between pre- and post-treatment conditions. Implementation monitoring will address the adherence to prescribed treatments, while effectiveness monitoring will evaluate the extent to which the treatment(s) accomplished the stated goals of fuel reduction and native forest restoration. Photo points and vegetation plots will be employed to accomplish monitoring objectives. The Grants Pass Resource Area of the BLM will be notified prior to the execution of any treatment on private land. The BLM or USFS will be expected to provide necessary environmental, cultural and historical resource oversight in accordance with NEPA. Any significant findings that do not qualify for Categorical Exclusion will be dealt with appropriately. BLM personnel will be supplied with maps of the proposed treatment areas subsequent to the acquisition of funding. 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, or natural landscapes. 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 (1) fuels treatment plan or (2) 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 (1) leads to, enhances or restores a local fire-adapted ecosystem, and/or (2) mitigates or leads to the mitigation of hazardous fuel conditions. F. How will the proposed treatments or programs be maintained in future years? The target of this proposal is a Strategic Treatment Area (STA) within the Slate Strategic Planning Area (SPA). Ninety percent of the SPA falls within the High and Medium Hazard Rating categories (Applegate Fire Plan, 2002). Further, the STA encompasses a major local highway corridor, which has been designated as “very high risk” (Applegate Fire Plan). The corridor is juxtaposed with private rural residences/properties (WUI) and federal land. Via strategic fuel reduction treatments within the STA, the project seeks to protect the safety of the local community (lives and property) and natural resources alike. Specifically, the project will capitalize on an existing community fire strategy (Applegate Fire Plan, 2002) to coordinate a cooperative fuels treatment plan on private properties located between the highway 199-corridor and abutting federal land. The primary objective, to reduce the potential for the occurrence of a severe fire event, will be accomplished through the education and partial funding of on-the-ground fuel reduction projects. Secondary objectives are the restoration of local, fire-adapted ecosystems, and utilization of byproducts associated with fuel reduction work. Through oversight by ARWC staff, and input from BLM and ODF staff, treatments will be performed with a keen eye toward restoring native systems. Once established, restored forest systems and reduced fuel conditions will be maintained through continued support from partner organizations, including ARWC, and through sustained guidance in land stewardship principles for the community. In addition, burgeoning markets for treatment byproducts may provide an increased incentive for landowners to maintain appropriate forest conditions on their properties. Response: 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)? How will this proposal link to other projects (or proposed projects) to create year-round jobs? B. To what extent will this project be offered to serve as a model for other communities or natural landscapes? C. Will biomass or forest fuels be utilized; if so, in what manner and how much? The Slate/Applegate Fuel Reduction and Utilization Project proposes an increase in on-the-ground fuel reduction treatments, thereby augmenting the existing work pool for local contractors. Based on past experience, ARWC is confident that community interest in fuel reduction and forest health amelioration treatments will escalate subsequent to the completion of the initial work in the area. Thus there is potential for a ripple effect throughout the community, which may provide for sustained local economic activity. This project will link directly with existing fuel reduction projects in the area (Squaw Gulch Fuel Reduction Project, Josephine County Fuel Reduction Project). Such linkages will serve to bolster the potential for sustained workforce employment by local contractors. Utilization of fuel reduction byproducts will be a major focus of this project. ARWC, the World Wildlife Fund, Scientific Certification Systems and others are currently partnered in an effort to develop a flow of small-diameter products derived from fuel reduction projects, from private woodlots to local markets. The Slate/Applegate Fuel Reduction and Utilization Project has tremendous potential to further stimulate such efforts, and to act as a catalyst for fostering new, long-term employment opportunities in the area. The total amount of potentially usable material is not yet known, however ARWC hopes to quantify this during secondary scoping. Response: 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 or plan, or creates such a plan. Describe the plan if it already exists. B. Explain the level of cooperation, coordination or strategic planning through a “Local Coordination Group” for wildland fire activities, or among federal, state, tribal, local government and community organizations. List the cooperators (a detailed list of cooperators will be required for projects that are funded). The Slate/Applegate Fuel Reduction and Utilization Project represents the implementation phase of the Applegate Fire Plan (2002), which was developed and supported by a team of over 24 agencies, organizations and community groups. Recommendations specific to the proposed project area include, a) CARs and Highway 199 are very high risk. Recommendation: do fuel reduction work around homes, along roads, b) Complete fuel reduction… and other federal projects, incorporating CAR/WUI collaborative work on adjacent private lands (Applegate Fire Plan, 2000; pg.68-19). As dictated by the AFP, all private landowners participating in this project will be expected to have adhered to Oregon state and local requirements for maintaining defensible space around their homes. These requirements will be checked and administered by our local ODF office and the local rural fire districts, as a pre-requisite for receiving project funding. The AFP has provided for cooperation and coordination (a “Local Coordinating Group”) at the watershed scale. This project is supported through these existing collaborative relationships, but provides for further collaboration at the local scale. Cooperating partners will include ARWC, the Applegate Partnership, the Grants Pass Resource Area of BLM, ODF, the local rural fire district and the Slate sub-watershed community. Response: 4. Expanding Community Participation. (15 Points) A. To what extent have interested individuals, groups, and communities been provided an opportunity to become informed and involved in this proposal? B. Describe the extent of local support or opposition for the project, including any cost-sharing arrangements. C. What are the environmental, social and educational benefits or concerns of the project? As indicated above, the Applegate Watershed community, local interest groups, federal and state agencies, local fire districts and various organizations have all contributed to the development of the Applegate Fire Plan. The approach for the development of the Slate/Applegate Fuel Reduction and Utilization Project has been to capitalize on these existing relationships while strengthening relationships at a more local level. This has entailed contacting landowners in the Slate SPA in an attempt to determine the level of interest in potential projects such as this one. Via community meetings and conversations with individuals (Slate Creek Analysis, 2002; Slate/Applegate Fuel Reduction and Utilization Project initial scoping, 2003), ARWC found that community members are extremely concerned about fuel buildup and wildfire. The massive Biscuit Fire of 2002 no doubt amplified anxiety. Many community members have since expressed a great deal of interest in a project such as this, and several have taken it upon themselves to begin independent fuel reduction projects. Nevertheless, the Slate SPA represents one of the most financially destitute portions of the Applegate Watershed and many landowners are unable to fund necessary treatments without assistance. Thus, “in-kind” contribution from participating private landowners is expected through fuel reduction work performed or partially paid for by the landowner, participation in monitoring of the work, input regarding the planning process, and critical analysis of the collaborative process. The benefits of this project will be environmental, social and educational as the aim is avoidance of loss of life, property and natural resources, native forest restoration, community education/outreach, and product utilization. Response: Enclosure 3C - Project Work Form Tasks Time Frame Responsible Party 1). Identify and prioritize specific treatment sites on private land 2). Implement local outreach strategy 3). Implement secondary scoping for utilization potential Contingent upon funding availability (Spring 2004) Applegate River Watershed Council ODF Local Fire District 1). Coordinate with local contractors 2). Coordinate with applicable organizations on marketing and utilization 3). Develop treatment prescriptions Spring/Summer 2004 Applegate River Watershed Council Local contractors Landowners Grants Pass RA BLM 1). Install monitoring plots/record data 2). Implement/Oversee prescriptions 3). Coordinate resource flow (utilization) Summer 2004 (monitoring) Spring 2004 to Spring 2005 Applegate River Watershed Council Local Contractor Landowner 1). Post-treatment monitoring/data collection 2). Post-treatment evaluation and long-term management recommendations Spring/Summer 2005 Applegate River Watershed Council 1). Compose and distribute comprehensive evaluation report 2). Long-term monitoring of plots/record data Fall 2005 Summer 2009 (complete five year monitoring plan) Applegate River Watershed Council Enclosure 3D Project Budget Cost Category Description Personnel Planning/Implementation NEPA Requirements Subtotal Fringe Benefits Planning/Implementation NEPA Requirements Subtotal Federal Agency Applicant $9152 $1760 $9152 $1760 $1248 $240 $1248 $240 Partner 1 Landowners Partner 2 ODF/BLM/FD Total $9375 $4062 $13,437 $20,287 $4062 $24,349 $5625 $2438 $8063 $7113 $2438 $9551 Travel @$0.36/Mile $720 $1080 $1800 Subtotal $720 $1080 $1800 Equipment Subtotal Supplies Monitoring Outreach Supplies Subtotal $0 $0 $150 $500 $650 $150 $500 $650 Contractual $37,500 $18,750 $56,250 Subtotal $37,500 $18,750 $56,250 Other 10% Administration (Indirect Costs) $4927 $2258 $7185 Subtotal $4927 $2258 $7185 Total Costs $54,197 $24,838 $99,785 $2000 $18,750 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.