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:
Deschutes County
Phone:
FAX:
Email:
541-388-6575
541-385-1764
catherin@co.deschutes.or.us
Address (Street or P. O. Box, City, State, Zip):
117 N.W. Lafayette Ave., Bend, OR 97701
Project Coordinator
Project Coordinator (Name and Title):
Catherine Morrow, Principal Planner
Organization/Jurisdiction:
Deschutes County Community Development Department
Phone:
FAX:
Email:
541-385-1708
541-385-1764
catherin@co.deschutes.or.us
Project Information
Project Title:
La Pine Neighborhood Defensible Space Treatment
Project Start:
Project End:
January 2, 2003
May 1, 2003
Federal Funding Request:
Total Project Funding:
$109,835.00
$109,835.00
Are you submitting multiple projects? If so, please explain and prioritize:
No
Brief Project Description:
Implementation of a model "Defensible Space Management Plan" now in development will treat 540
acres of county-owned property in southern Deschutes County in the urban/forest interface on the
outskirts of the rural community of La Pine. Outcomes will include fire-defensible areas for
medium/high density residential for 1,800 homes, as well as commercial and natural open-space
areas; ongoing vegetation management; shaded fuel breaks; job skill-development for at-risk youth;
community-service opportunities for incarcerated youth; seasonal employment; and fuels utilization.
Documentation of the model fire-defensible landscape will aim to make this project replicable
throughout the county and the Western U.S.
Project Location:
County:
Congressional District:
La Pine, OR unincorporated area
Deschutes County
District 2
Project Type: Check appropriate project type. More than one type may be checked. If only Box (4) is checked, use Enclosure 4.
(1)
(2)
Wildland Urban Interface Fuels Project
Wildland Urban Interface Education and Prevention Project
(3)
(4)
Community Planning for Fire Protection Project
Fuels Utilization and Marketing Project
If the applicant is an unincorporated area, define the geographic area being represented:
Approx. 540 acres of Deschutes County-owned area in north La Pine UUC.
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
 partners





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
Rapid population growth in Central Oregon is exacerbating fire/urban interface issues that in the
past decade have consumed over 40 homes and burned over 266,000 acres of federal, state and private lands
in the region. About 540 undeveloped acres, owned by Deschutes County in the La Pine unincorporated area
of the south county, will be the site of new residences for over 3,500 people. This project will essentially
transfer development from environmentally-sensitive, high watertable and deer-migration areas to a planned
development area under the administration of the county. A grant from the 2001 National Fire Plan Program
of the USDA is funding a comprehensive “Defensible Space in Urban Interface Management Plan” for this
“New Neighborhood” of about 1,800 homes. The plan will be complete in December 2002. The County is
proposing this project for implementation of the plan; the three-fold aim of the implementation project is to:
(1) establish defensible spaces through clearing of hazardous fuels; (2) preserve the beauty of natural, forested
open spaces by establishing protected parks and buffer zones within and adjacent to the developed area; and
(3) provide opportunities for area residents and propertyowners to observe research-based methods and
practices for defensible spaces based on a model plan for fire prevention in the urban interface suitable for
communities throughout the Northwest.
Response:
The County proposes a 4-month project for 2003 having a total cost of $109,132. This project will be carried
out by a partnership led by Deschutes County’s Community Development Dept. (DCDD), and comprised of
the county’s Project Impact and Juvenile Community Justice Dept. (DJCJD), La Pine Fire District, La Pine
School District, Oregon Departments of Forestry (ODF) and Fish & Wildlife (OFW), and the U.S. Forest
Service (USFS). Labor-intensive tasks of clearing and treating about 528 acres of mostly-sparse lodgepole
pine community will be divided between DJCJD and private subcontractors. Activities will mainly involve
cutting and taking down trees, pruning/limbing up, piling, slash treatment, shrub removal, and mowing.
Equipment and tools used for this purpose by DJCJD are already owned by the county; subcontractors will be
expected to also use their own equipment and tools. An environmental assessment of the area, completed by
the Bureau of Land Management, has been reviewed by the USFS; USFS has concluded that EA meets all
standards. The outcomes of the project will be:
540 acres prepared according to comprehensive defensible-space management plan: 470 for medium/highdensity, residential/commercial development, and 68 acres for natural and developed open space;
Highly visible model of a fire-defensible landscape in lodgepole pine forest communities typical of the La
Pine area;
Optimal reduction of fuels and noxious weeds throughout the target area;
Fire-resistant species planted according to recommended specifications and maintenance standards;
Shaded fuel breaks;
At least 50 at-risk youth gain job and workplace skills; each earn minimum wage for average of 100 hours;
At least 50 adjudicated youth pay back the community through community-service function of this project;
Fuel wood and cut trees for La Pine schools to use for heating their facilities and converting to fence poles
and posts for added security around school properties; and
Fuel wood for an estimated 1,000 low-income residents of La Pine.
Measures of the fire resistance of the area’s urban interface will be determined by the Defensible
Space Management Plan, which is being developed according to specifications and standards from national
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?
Proposal will create a fire-defensible landscape on project site based on site-specific fuels
treatment prescriptions. The immediate project area cover 540 acres in a proposed 1,800-unit development.
The impact area from which development will be transferred covers an additional 19,500 acres of Deschutes
County that will benefit from decreased density, retention of natural open spaces and fire crew accessibility;
much of this area borders federally-managed forested lands. As has been noted, this project will implement
the comprehensive DSM Plan—now in development-- for the 540-acre New Neighborhood. The proposal
will reduce the fire risk of numerous other properties in Deschutes county. College and high school forestry
students working on the project will bring fuels reduction skills back to their parents’, neighbors’ and friends’
properties. Students will have the knowledge to explain and implement fire-defensible strategies on these
properties. Future residents of the project site, homebuilders on the project site, La Pine residents, realtors,
and visitors to the site will learn fire-defensible space strategies that they can apply on these and other
properties in the county. Local media will be invited to the site for periodic briefings on this grant project and
on the neighborhood development after the grant is completed. Deschutes County Project Impact will be
involved in the education functions of the proposal providing its years of experience with public educ
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)?
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: Immediate job-creation
outcomes for the project will result in the employment for 2 months of 1) 50
at-risk youth at minimum wage through the non-profit Heart of Oregon Corps; 2) an estimated 20 employees
of commercial contractors; and 3) 50 adjudicated youth from the county corrections program, who will earn
team-building and job skills while paying back their community. In the longer term, the project will foster
additional job opportunities for local arborists and landscapers, builders and renovators and local, regional
and national businesses who will supply local landowners with the materials necessary to create a fire
resistant property, home and/or business. These jobs, which will help sustain and diversify the local
economy, will grow over time as new structures are built, yards and parks are developed, and their ongoing
maintenance becomes an annual priority. A developing, 300-acre industrial park in La Pine will have a larger
and more diverse labor pool due to proximity of the New A final report on the project will aim for
replicability of the DSM Plan’s model elements, and will chronicle how these elements were implemented in
the development of the New Neighborhood. It is believed that other communities in the county—and
throughout the Western U.S.-- face similar situations.
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: A
partnership between the County, ODF, ODFW, Deschutes Soil & Water Conservation Service,
USFS, La Pine Rural Fire District, schools, and local citizens was initiated by the DSM Plan grant of last
year. Implementation of this proposal requires continued interagency cooperation.
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: Deschutes
County has held over 50 meetings, workshops and public hearings regarding the New
Neighborhood planning area. A number of the hearings informed the public of the county's intent to build
fire-mitigation practices into development of the neighborhood. Six county newsletters have featured
informative articles about the project. Also, the county's website includes a webpage linked to the
Community Development Department homepage that features the project and all of its specific objectives and
elements. In the near future, this website will be enhanced to allow for interactive involvement. These
efforts will be continued over the next 20 years as the New Neighborhood develops.
Local support for this project is high. High in-migration has created pressure on the county to designate more
land for residential development. Concerns over defensibility of new subdivisions are being addressed
through the DSM Plan. The county will provide in-kind contributions for implementation of the DSM Plan,
including coordination of tasks that convert plan elements into comprehensive biomass treatment, zoning
revisions, development agreements and homeowner covenants.
The benefits of the La Pine Neighborhood include, but are not limited to: decreased density in the impact area
which reduces ground water pollution, enhances deer migration routes and improves existing resident quality
of life, while simultaneously increasing local fire agencies' ability to respond to emergencies. The immediate
goal is to implement a plan for defensible space and fire mitigation.
Enclosure 3C - Project Work Form
Tasks
Bidding for commercial contract.
Time Frame
Responsible Party
30-45 days
Deschutes County Community Devt
Dept. (DCCDD)
Contract negotiation fo commercial
contractor.
7 days
DCCDD
Fuels treatment of project area
30-60 days
Heart of OR Corps, Juvenile Justice
Dept., commercial contractor, Central
OR Community College and La Pine
High School students
Fuels utilization:
- Bundling
- Stacking
- Distribution to community
30-60 days
Juvenile Justice Dept., Central OR
Community College and La Pine High
School students
Consultation/advice
Ongoing
OR Depts of Forestry and Fish &
Wildlife, USFS, BLM, Project Impact
Project assessment
30 days
Central OR Comm College and La
Pine High School students, under
guidance of DCCDD and partners
Documentation of model fire-defensible
landscape
14 days
DCCDD
Contract negotiation with Heart of OR Corps
and Juvenile Justice Dept.
Enclosure 3D Project Budget
Cost Category
Description
Federal
Agency
Personnel
DCCDD Principal Planner
DCCDD Asst Planner
Subtotal
$4,940.00
$2,326.00
$7,266.00
Fringe Benefits
DCCDD Principal Planner
DCCDD Asst Planner
Subtotal
$1,422.00
$905.00
$2,327.00
Travel
180 miles @ $0.33/mile
$59.00
Subtotal
$59.00
Applicant
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
Partner 1
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
Partner 2
Total
$0.00
$0.00
$4,940.00
$2,326.00
$7,266.00
$0.00
$0.00
$1,422.00
$905.00
$2,327.00
$0.00
$0.00
$59.00
$0.00
$59.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$29,040.00
$31,608.00
$29,550.00
$90,198.00
Equipment
Subtotal
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
Supplies
Subtotal
$0.00
Contractual
Private: Heart of OR Corps
Private: Comm contractor
Subtotal
$29,040.00
$31,608.00
$29,550.00
$90,198.00
Other
Administration (10% of proj)
$9,985.00
Subtotal
$9,985.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$9,985.00
$0.00
$9,985.00
Total Costs
$109,835.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$109,835.00
Project (Program) Income1
(using deductive alternative)
1
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
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.