Success Stories
AZ - Communities Partner for Forest Health and Wildfire Reduction
through a creative mix of fuels management projects
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| Home site before fuels treatment |
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| Home site after fuels treatment |
“Nothing succeeds like success,” according to Art Matthias, Program Coordinator for the Rural Communities Fuels Management Partnership outside of Flagstaff, AZ – and success is exactly what this partnership has been experiencing!
The summer of 2000 brought the many large fires to the area- the Pumpkin fire (15,000 acres) and the Pipe fire (600 acres). These fires were not only larger than average but close to homes as well. The fires sparked not only flames- but action, and in 2001 communities and land agencies began strategizing on how to reduce the risk of wildfire to homes, properties and lives.
With a very creative mix of funding and resources the Rural Communities Fuels Management Partnership was formed. To get off the ground, seed money was obtained from the Northern Arizona University Ecological Restoration Institute in Flagstaff. The Partnership then expanded to mixing grant funds from federal state fire assistance, forest health and Coconino County through the Arizona State Land Department - Forestry Division. Labor resources came from the County Rural Environmental Corp and the Arizona Inmate Crews. Homeowners and local fire departments also supplemented the funding and labor.
The goal of the Partnership is to reduce the threat that wildland fire poses to lives and property by helping private landowners near the National Forest implement tree-thinning treatments on their property. An important aspect is to treat continuous acres of forest regardless of ownership in order to be most effective in reducing the threat of wildland fires. Through those treatments, the project seeks to not only reduce fire risk, but also improve overall forest health.
As with most successes, this project's strengths are lies with its many partnerships including: the Kaibab National Forest, Arizona State Land Department, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Coconino County, NAU’s Ecological Restoration Institute, the Arizona Department of Corrections, and the Parks-Bellemont, Sherwood Forest Estates and Summit Fire Districts. “It’s an informal partnership that works,” said Kevin Boness, District Forester with the Arizona State Land department. “Although it’s strictly voluntary, someone is always willing to step to the plate when the need arises.” Since 2001 over 3,800 acres of contiguous private and public lands have been treated, involving hundreds of households.
"Obtaining and coordinating funding, conducting meetings and outreach programs, assessing properties, implementing treatments, as well as knocking on doors takes a true partnership effort,” said Program Coordinator and retired Forest Service employee, Art Mathias. When asked what the greatest obstacle was in implementing the treatments, Art explained that at first most landowners were very concerned about the aesthetics of thinning the trees on their property, but once a few landowners did it, “the others saw how good it looked; it spread – like “wildfire”.”
CONTACT: Art Matthias at amatthia@ag.arizona.edu
RELATED SITES:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/kai/fire/
http://www.azsf.az.gov/
DATE: 2007-06-06
