Article Contributed on: 3/22/2007 7:54:12 PM
To say that the
Jefferson Conservation District in Colorado is active on wildland-urban interface issues is an understatement.
With a small but dedicated staff, an equally dedicated board of supervisors and strong partners, the district is arms-deep in work on a variety of projects, most of them related to forest health and fire issues on the Front Range.
Located in suburban Denver, the district's boundaries include private lands mingled with public in the rugged Rocky Mountains, where fire risk is high due to fuels buildups and a prolonged drought. Many homeowners live on forested hills with spectacular views that happen to be prone to fire. The district has been involved in an array of activities during and after major fires such as the 2002 Hayman Fire, which burned 137,000 acres, as well as the Buffalo Creek and Hi Meadow fires.
The district's experiences in dealing with these issues came in handy as it undertook a project to create a "how-to" manual for conservation districts and other community groups engaged in helping private citizens before, during and after major fires.
"Rehabilitation efforts actually start during the fire," says district board member
Karen Berry, who spearheaded the project. Berry is also a member of the National Association of Conservation District's Urban, Community and Coastal Resources Committee.
Cooperating with the district on the project is the Coalition for the Upper South Platte, (CUSP), a regional watershed group, and the National Forest Foundation. "CUSP has been doing educational programs with children on things like what to pack in an emergency bag and fire-safety kinds of issues," says Berry. "They're going to bring in some of their community-based work experience - dealing with volunteers and fire survivors."
The booklet focuses on how to get information to homeowners in order to initiate post-fire rehabilitation in a timely fashion. "One of the things we've found is, after a fire, it takes awhile to get recovery efforts going. But it can rain any time, and owners should act to protect their homes right away," Berry says.
A goal is to provide accurate, easily understood information on measures such as sandbagging and using straw bales to deter erosion. "The first place homeowners' call is often the conservation district. Having this booklet on hand is very valuable," Berry says.
The project involved a lot of information gathering. "It took all the collective experiences of conservation districts and other groups that have undertaken rehabilitation efforts," Berry says. The booklet provides information on how to coordinate with emergency management officials and other agencies. Emphasis is on how to make programs like the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Emergency Watershed Program work most effectively.
There is also practical information for basic needs. "It addresses matters like how to deal with stress, how to handle liability issues, the kinds of things we've learned after dealing with fires," Berry says.
District officials are also cooperating on a Front Range Fuels Treatment Partnership with the Colorado State Forest Service, USDA Forest Service and a long list of other stakeholders. "We're working on coming up with a cooperative long-term forest health plan for the Front Range of Colorado," Berry says. "The goal is to help guide some of the practices the U.S. Forest Service is doing, but also with the understanding that the only way to get this done is across the landscape." The group is working to facilitate development of community wildfire protection plans that can guide action over the long-term. "This is a huge step forward to do this proactively," Berry says.
On another front, the district has cooperated with the State Forest Service and NRCS to provide valuable assistance to private landowners. The district received grant funding for a forest technician. The technician does forest management plans for landowners, then helps landowners identify forest health improvement practices that qualify for Environmental Quality Incentives Program funding from NRCS. The cost-share program helps landowners accomplish fuels reduction and other forest health practices.
Together with other partners, the district is now looking for ways to develop woody biomass markets to support fuels treatments. "We have to create a sustainable market for these trees," Berry says.
For more information contact: Sally Lobel at the District office, 720/544-2870; or Deb Bogar, NACD Regional Representative at 303/988-1893.
This article was written by Bill Berry, NACD Forestry Notes
http://forestry.nacdnet.org/forestrynotes/Jan07/