CWPP Steps

From: A Handbook for Wildland-Urban Interface Communities, Preparing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Developed by the Society for American Foresters: www.safnet.org/policyandpress/cwpphandbook.pdf

a Step One: Convene Decisionmakers

· Form a core team made up of representatives from the appropriate local governments, local fire authority, and state agency responsible for forest management.

a Step Two: Involve Federal Agencies

· Identify and engage local representatives of the USFS and BLM.

· Contact and involve other land management agencies as appropriate.

a Step Three: Engage Interested Parties

· Contact and encourage active involvement in plan development from a broad range of interested organizations and stakeholders.

a Step Four: Establish a Community Base Map

· Work with partners to establish a baseline map of the community that defines the community’s WUI and displays inhabited areas at risk, forested areas that contain critical human infrastructure, and forest areas at risk for large-scale fire disturbance.

a Step Five: Develop a Community Risk Assessment

· Work with partners to develop a community risk assessment that considers fuel hazards; risk of wildfire occurrence; homes, businesses, and essential infrastructure at risk; other community values at risk; and local preparedness capability.

· Rate the level of risk for each factor and incorporate into the base map as appropriate.

a Step Six: Establish Community Priorities and Recommendations

· Use the base map and community risk assessment to facilitate a collaborative community discussion that leads to the identification of local priorities for fuel treatment, reducing structural ignitability, and other issues of interest, such as improving fire response capability.

· Clearly indicate whether priority projects are directly related to protection of communities and essential infrastructure or to reducing wildfire risks to other community values.

a Step Seven: Develop an Action Plan and Assessment Strategy

· Consider developing a detailed implementation strategy to accompany the CWPP, as well as a monitoring plan that will ensure its long-term success.

a Step Eight: Finalize Community Wildfire Protection Plan

· Finalize the CWPP and communicate the results to community and key partners.