III. Field Guide to the Forest Service

Coordination with the Forest Service

As partnerships become a more effective way to achieve conservation results, the need for the branches to work together cooperatively is increasing. Each branch has unique skills, authorities, and information to provide to collaborative efforts. The National Fire Plan, an integrated strategy for wildland fire activities across public lands management agencies, offers numerous opportunities for integration. Applied research is needed to address on-the-ground issues and to transfer research to real life problems for communities. For example, the Forest Products Laboratory is responding to the need to reduce hazardous fuels by developing technologies to utilize small diameter wood from thinning operations. These technologies offer economic opportunities for communities while reducing the threat of wildland fire.

The accompanying story is an example of how the branches are working cooperatively to implement partnership projects and assist rural communities.

Helping Communities Build Capacity – Bitterroot Community Fire Plan

With help from State and Private Forestry programs, residents throughout the Bitterroot Valley in western Montana are working together to reduce the risk from catastrophic wildfires. Memory of the 2000 firestorm that devastated the valley continues to drive the community's efforts.

A State and Private Forestry Economic Action Program grant issued to the Bitterroot Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Area, Inc., supported a community fire planning process that began in 2002. Participants in the process included private landowners, community leaders, volunteer fire departments, independent foresters, nonprofit organizations, elected officials, and local, state, and federal agencies. Forest Service employees partnered with RC&D staff to provide coordination.

Completed in the spring of 2003 and updated in 2004, the Community Fire Plan addresses four key community goals:

  • Fire prevention and suppression, emphasizing expanded emergency response coordination and capacity-building for volunteer fire departments
  • Hazardous fuels reduction in the wildland-urban interface, including treatments across jurisdictional boundaries and community engagement in a “defensible space” campaign
  • Restoration of fire-adapted ecosystems
  • Community assistance, with emphasis on expanding commercial markets for waste wood products generated in hazardous fuel treatments

The Community Fire Plan has generated notable achievements, including a map that identifies cross-boundary high-risk areas, fuels reduction on 800 acres of private lands, creation of an informational website (http://www.bitterrootfireplan.org), and creation of a successful homeowners awareness campaign adopted throughout the inland northwest. Through mentoring, the Bitterroot RC&D now helps other RC&D Areas in Montana develop similar fire plans.

For more information, contact Nan Christianson, Bitterroot National Forest, (406)363-7113, nchristianson@fs.fed.us, or Kit Sutherland, Bitterroot RC&D, (406)363-1444 ext. 5, kit.sutherland@mt.usda.gov. For information and resources on developing Community Wildfire Protection Plans, visit: http://www.healthyforests.gov/community/cwpp.html.