Statement:
The Ashland Forest Lands Commission, in conjunction with local environmentalists
and several environmental groups, has prepared a Community Wildfire Protection
Plan (CWPP) to submit to the U.S. Forest Service as a community alternative
to the Ashland Forest Resiliency Project. This plan is now submitted to the
City Council for adoption. The Ashland Forest Lands Commission will meet
on Tuesday morning, September 21th , to approve revisions to Chapter 8, which
were completed after submission of the CWPP document to Council. The general
direction and prescriptive philosophy contained in the draft Chapter 8 will
hold consistently throughout the completion of this work for inclusion in
the final CWPP. While the latest draft is included with the Council packet,
it is understood that this is an evolving process and the future is likely
to produce additional enhancements to the CWPP. |
Background:
This plan constitutes partial completion of City Council goals # 7 (Establish
a stronger, formalized role for the City in the stewardship of entire Ashland
Watershed) and #18 (Develop a strategy to educate residents about City's
emergency procedures in the event of wildfire).
The purpose of the Ashland Forest Resiliency Project is to protect forest
ecosystem values at risk, reduce crown fire potential, and establish forest
ecosystem conditions that are more resilient to wildland fire events. The
USFS Ashland Forest Resiliency Project has been granted status as a project
under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA). Under HFRA, the USFS is
required to evaluate three alternatives, (1) no action, (2) a USFS preferred
alternative, and (3) a community alternative submitted as a "Community Wildfire
Protection Plan". The Ashland Forest Lands Commission, in cooperation with
local environmental stewardship groups, has prepared a "Community Wildfire
Protection Plan", or "CWPP", to be evaluated as the third alternative. This
proposal must be submitted by October 1st to the Forest Service.
The CWPP will provide an effective framework for addressing critical components
of our community's wildfire defense strategy. This framework includes a
discussion of the following: collaboration and community outreach efforts,
wildfire risk assessment, fire protection capabilities and infrastructure
protection, evacuation procedures, strategies to reduce vulnerabilities,
fuels reduction, biomass utilization, monitoring and evaluation. The technical
prescriptions will provide the Forest Service with recommendations for fuel
treatment strategies for various landscape units included within the Ashland
Forest Resiliency Project in the Ashland Watershed. The CWPP Committee, under
the auspices of the Ashland Forest Lands Commission, has been working under
an exhaustive schedule to complete the document for City Council review and
adoption. |
