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Underwood Conservation District |
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FIREWISE
Last Updated: 4/9/12 Part
of what makes living in Skamania and Klickitat County so great is our close connection
to forests. We live, work, fish, hunt
and recreate throughout the beautiful forests that surround our
communities. While we can certainly
enjoy and appreciate our forests, it is also important for us to recognize
that wildfire is a natural part of most forest ecosystems. Being prepared for
wildfire is an important part of living in this region. Thats what being Firewise is all
about. Here at Underwood Conservation District,
we have developed a set of programs to provide assistance to those of you
that are challenged by the task of preparing your home and property for the
eventuality of wildfire. Our Firewise
program involves: ·
CONTRACTORS! RFQQ for the
2012 Early Season (Spring) Mobile Chipper Program ·
FREE Wildfire Hazard Home Assessments ·
NEW! Trout Lake (Fire District #1) Residents
Receive National Fire Plan Grant ·
NEW! Husum, BZ Corner, Snowden (Fire District
#3) Residents Receive National Fire Plan Grant ·
Washington DNR Forest Stewardship Cost Share
Program ·
Community Mobile Chipper Program ·
Skamania County Wildfire Prevention Local
Coordinating Group ·
2011 Forest Youth Success Firewise
Community Outreach CONTRACTORS: RFQQ for the 2012 Early Season Mobile Chipper Program UCD has secured funding for a mobile chipper service,
similar to that operated in 2011, but offered on a first-come, first-served
basis in a limited program area in Skamania County, Washington. This program
will be run in May and June 2012 but there is a significant possibility for
additional funding and a considerably extended program. We highly recommend
interested contractors read the RFQQ, direct questions to Dan Richardson
(email: danrichardson@gorge.net), and submit a Statement of Qualifications and
Quotations. The deadline
for submitting your Statement of Qualifications and Quotations is Monday,
April 16, 2012, by 4:00 p.m. (Residents interested
in participating in a mobile chipper service may also direct questions to
this email: danrichardson@gorge.net.) FREE Wildfire Hazard Home Hazard Assessment Have you ever
wondered what would happen if a wildfire were to come through your
neighborhood? Did you know that it is
the materials that your home is constructed of as well as the area immediately surrounding your home that
actually determines whether or not your home will survive a wildfire? If you are concerned about the hazards of wildfire
on your property, please consider contacting us to schedule a FREE Wildfire
Hazard Home Assessment. This
assessment is a personalized, one-on-one home visit to rate the wildfire
hazard risk of your house and your property. Our trained staff will discuss
with you a variety of things that you can do to reduce your wildfire
hazards. This is a free service for
any landowner in Skamania or western Klickitat County and an excellent way to
begin or continue readying your lot for a wildfire. To request a Wildfire
Hazard Home Assessment contact: Jamie
Gomez, Firewise Coordinator 509-493-1936 or jamiegomez@gorge.net Trout Lake - Wildfire Hazard Reduction Assistance Program Currently available Residents
of Trout Lake are currently eligible to apply for cost share funding to
provide assistance with work to reduce overall wildfire risks around personal
property. This grant funded program is being managed by Washington Department
of Natural Resources with assistance from Underwood Conservation, the Trout
Lake Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Steering Committee and Fire
District #1. If you are resident of Trout Lake / FD #1 you may be eligible
for assistance with: ·
Tree Thinning work to reduce the density of small diameter trees (less than 8
diameter at breast height) ·
Brush and Tree Pruning removal of hazardous brush and pruning of
remaining trees ·
Slash Disposal removal of existing slash and slash generated from thinning and
pruning by way of chipping or burning All
approved projects must be complete by November 30th 2013. Please
contact Jamie Gomez, Firewise Coordinator with Underwood Conservation
District for more information. Jamie can be reached at the shared UCD office
phone line (509) 493-1936 or by emailing: JamieGomez@gorge.net
Residents
of KCFD #3 are currently eligible to apply for cost share funding to provide
assistance with work to reduce overall wildfire risks around personal
property. This grant funded program is being managed by Washington Department
of Natural Resources with assistance from Underwood Conservation, the KCFD
#3, the Husum / BZ Corner Community Council, the Snowden Community Council
and others. If you are resident of KCFD #3 you may be eligible for assistance
with: ·
Tree Thinning work to reduce the density of small diameter trees (less than 8
diameter at breast height) ·
Brush and Tree Pruning removal of hazardous brush and pruning of
remaining trees ·
Slash Disposal removal of existing slash and slash generated from thinning and
pruning by way of chipping or burning All
approved projects must be complete by November 30th 2013. Please
contact Jamie Gomez, Firewise Coordinator with Underwood Conservation
District for more information. Jamie can be reached at the shared UCD office
phone line (509) 493-1936 or by emailing: JamieGomez@gorge.net
Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forest Stewardship Cost Share You may be eligible for technical and financial
assistance to reduce wildfire hazards and improve forest health by participating
in one Washington DNRs forest stewardship cost share program. UCD staff are
available to answer questions about these programs by calling 509-493-1936.
Additional information about these programs can be found by visiting the DNR
Small Forest Landowner web page which can be found at: As of January 2012, DNR representatives are actively
seeking residents in Skamania & western Klickitat County to participate
in this program, which awards small grants to residents to offset costs
associated with thinning, pruning, brush control, slash disposal. In
addition, certain residents may be eligible for cost share funding to develop
a Forest Stewardship Plan. Community Mobile Chipper Program: You cut it. You pile it. We chip it. The Mobile Chipper Program is currently
unavailable to residents within Skamania & western Klickitat County. We
are currently working to secure funding for this program for 2012. Please
check back to this web page or call the UCD office to inquire about mobile
chipper availability. Firewise Incentive Program The
Firewise Incentive Program is currently unavailable to residents with within
Skamania & western Klickitat County. While this program is not available,
please read below to learn more about Washington Department of Natural Resources
cost share stewardship programs. Does your community have a particular
Firewise related issue that you would like to see addressed? Would you like assistance with developing a
Community scale project? In 2011 Underwood Conservation District has grant
funding to assist with Firewise Communities Projects. We are currently working to develop
projects and programs to meet the needs of communities throughout Skamania
County. Please contact us at
509-493-1936 to discuss this important and time sensitive opportunity. Tracking Volunteer Time Have you
done work to help prepare your home, property or community for wildfire? How much time did you spend? If you have done work to create defensible
space and reduce wildfire hazards in Skamania County, please let us know how
much time youve spent. This
information is valuable for our community assistance grant funding. By providing this information you will
enable Underwood Conservation District and partners to bring future funding
into our community. What time counts?
Pruning, thinning trees, removing brush, downed wood and slash, piling slash
for burning / chipping, cleaning gutters and roofs of woody debris,
organizing community meetings and events, and any other activities that serve
to reduce fire hazards.
2011 Forest Youth Success - Firewise Community Outreach (FYS-FCO) Forest Youth Success (FYS) is a summer work program that employs young adults in Skamania County. In 2011 FYS teamed up with UCD to provide community outreach services. Visiting communities in and around the West End, Prindle, Skamania, Stevenson, Carson, Stabler, Home Valley, Mill A and Underwood these crews, primarily composed of students from Columbia High School, made a huge impact. To learn more about this program and review its accomplishments please click on the FYS-FCO 2011 Final Report. We would like to offer a big thank you to the Stevenson Carson School District, Skamania County, Forest Youth Success, the Washington Department of Natural Resources and all of the students and supervisors that made this effort possible Skamania County Wildfire Prevention Local Coordinating Group The
Skamania County Wildfire Prevention Local Coordinating Group (a.k.a. The LCG)
is a group of local landowners, land managers and government agency
stakeholders that meet on a quarterly basis to discuss, plan, and coordinate
activities related to wildfire prevention and wildfire hazard mitigation in Skamania
County. The group is facilitated by
Underwood Conservation District and generally meets on a quarterly basis on
Thursday evenings in Stevenson, WA.
For more information about the LCG please contact Jamie Gomez at
509-493-1936. Please see the below documents:
Other Useful Information Skamania County Community Wildfire Protection Plans Washington State Listing
of Community Wildfire Protection Plans |
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