So What's Next?

Over the past few months, a draft of our Applegate Fire Plan has been forming with research and input from the Interdisciplinary team. We're also forming up neighborhood emergency communication systems throughout the watershed, with the help of our community team as well as several local Emergency Preparedness experts. As you can see on the timeline, right, we are aiming to have a draft of the plan basics printed and available in late February. What then? 

The next step is the development of fuel reduction strategies. That's right - the big, contentious question. Who and how, right?? Where and when?
After listening to questions and comments during our first round of meetings, we figured the best idea was to have neighborhood groups design their own local fuel reduction strategies. After all, a main goal of this Fire Plan is to get as much community involvement as possible. So, here's the plan: 

• Provide draft plan to interested residents (which contains an historical background, current conditions of the watershed, and a list of methods or tools that could be used to reduce fuels).
• Provide maps of the "strategic planning areas" to local planning groups, plus guidelines for what a fuel reduction plan needs to address.
• Neighborhood meetings are arranged, with help from the community team.
• Fuel reduction plans are developed for private lands locally. Residents may or may not chose to make recommendations for any adjoining federal lands.
• Localized fuel reduction plans are sent back to the project's plan writers for inclusion in the final strategies.
• Agency land managers incorporate neighborhood recommendations into their plans for federal lands (as much as is legally possible).
• Final written plan contains localized fuel reduction strategies, plus a prioritization of areas needing fuel treatments.

Our aggressive schedule on this project (again, in order to get a written plan prior to this summer's fire season) dictates that these local meetings to develop fuel reduction strategies happen during the month of March! So if you haven't already, start organizing groups of neighbors who share a driveway, a small valley, or stretch of road, etc. with whom you can work to address a good section of land. Talk to your neighborhood community reps if you have questions. And, watch for the notice announcing how you can get a copy of the draft plan! 

"VALUES-AT-RISK" 
or, Something to Think About

You may have heard the phrase "values-at-risk" several times over the past few months as we've begun developing this strategic fire plan. What exactly does this mean, and how should it concern you, a private landowner?

You will need to think about what you value, what's important to you and your neighbors, as you meet and develop fuel reduction strategies for your neighborhood. Do several of you have "walls" of trees around your homes because you all cherish your privacy? Is there one person who feeds the deer and squirrels while the rest of you try to keep them out of your gardens? Is the guy down the hill selling some of his manzanita to bird stores? And what about the "big spread" across the road with it's 200 head of cattle? Can you all work together and develop a fuel reduction strategy for your area that respects your individual "values-at-risk"? We think so, with a little bit of introspection, a little knowledge, and maybe some tools to work with.

In preparation, begin to think about what you value most from the forests, meadows and hillsides around you. What things might be at risk if a catastrophic fire came through? Your home, surely. What about the view out your front window? Think about the potential loss of animal or fish habitat, of valuable timber, of the neighbor's 200 head of cattle, or the loss of a vineyard. Further out, what about losing an old-growth stand or an alpine meadow or even a city's water supply?

Different things are important to different people - that's what makes the world so interesting! Start noting what you would hate to lose, and listen to your neighbors' feelings when you meet. Fuel hazards can still be reduced in your neighborhood, while your values-at-risk are better protected. 

For more information contact Applegate Partnership Board members:

Jack Shipley, 846-6917 
E-mail: rockycreekfarms@terragon.com

Sandy Shaffer, 899-9541
E-mail: dnsshaff@internetcds.com

Applegate Partnership Meetings