Cooperative Agreement L23AC00423

COMMUNITY PROTECTION PROJECT IN COORDINATION WITH THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT CARSON CITY DISTRICT. THE DESIGN PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP WILDFIRE RISK-REDUCTION ACTIVITIES THAT ADDRESS WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE (WUI) AREAS LOCATED WITHIN STOREY COUNTY. PROPOSED PROJECT AREAS INCLUDE VIRGINIA CITY, VIRGINIA CITY HIGHLANDS, GOLD HILL, AND MARK TWAIN. MANY OF THESE LOCATIONS HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL WILDFIRE HISTORY AND HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS HIGH TO EXTREME HAZARD ON RISK ASSESSMENT MAPPING AND IN PREVIOUS COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLANS (CWPPS). PROJECT PRIORITIES WILL FOCUS ON WILDFIRE RISK-REDUCTION BY UTILIZING ON-THE-GROUND FUELS REDUCTION TREATMENTS IN COMBINATION WITH COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.DURING THE INITIAL PHASES OF THE PROJECT, STOREY COUNTY CWPPS WILL BE EVALUATED AND UTILIZED TO IDENTIFY THE AREAS WITHIN THE STATED COMMUNITIES TO MOST EFFECTIVELY PERFORM FUELS REDUCTION TREATMENTS. AREAS GIVEN THE HIGHEST PRIORITY WILL INCLUDE PRIVATE LANDS LOCATED DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO OPEN LAND IN HIGH-RISK AREAS AND COMMON ACCESS ROUTES UTILIZED BY THE PUBLIC AND FIRST RESPONDERS DURING WILDFIRE EVENTS. PROJECT PLANNING WILL IDENTIFY THAT SCFPD OVERSEES HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION TO CREATE OR ENHANCE DEFENSIBLE SPACE AROUND HOMES AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN THE WUI. FUEL BREAKS WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN AREAS PROPOSED BY EXISTING WILDFIRE RISK ASSESSMENTS AND CWPPS, WHICH INCLUDE ROAD RIGHTS-OF-WAYS AND PROPERTIES ADJACENT TO CURRENT BLM FUELS PROJECTS. ADDITIONALLY, COORDINATION WITH BLM-CCD WILL OCCUR TO READDRESS AND MAINTAIN PRIOR CONSTRUCTED FUEL BREAKS AND TREATMENTS ON FEDERAL LANDS WITHIN THE PROPOSED PROJECT AREAS. PROJECTS ARE DESIGNED TO MODIFY AND REDUCE FUELS IN SUCH A WAY AS TO IMPROVE INGRESS EGRESS, REDUCE FIRE BEHAVIOR, AND LESSEN THE LIKELIHOOD OF CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRE AND ITS THREAT TO PUBLIC AND FIREFIGHTER SAFETY.PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH WILL BE AN ADDITIONAL FOCAL POINT OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION. THE NEVADA NETWORK OF FIRE ADAPTED COMMUNITIES (FAC) AND SCFPD WILL PROVIDE TECHNICAL INFORMATION, INCLUDING LIVING WITH FIRE BROCHURES, TO ENSURE THAT THE PUBLIC IS AWARE OF THEIR FIRE RISKS, OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN THE CWPP PROCESS, RISK MITIGATION STEPS, AVAILABLE CONTRACTORS ASSISTANCE, AND ACCESS TO AVAILABLE RESOURCES WITHIN STOREY COUNTY. SCFPD WILL PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND INFORMATION WHILE CONDUCTING DEFENSIBLE SPACE EVALUATIONS WITHIN THE PROJECT AREAS. COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS WILL BE HELD AT LEAST TWICE PER YEAR TO ENSURE THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE A CHANCE TO LEARN FROM EXPERTS, COLLABORATORS, AND NEIGHBORS. COLLABORATION WITH HOME PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATIONS WILL OCCUR TO FACILITATE THE CONCEPT AND LOGISTICAL NEEDS OF BECOMING FIREWISE COMMUNITIES.DURING THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE AND UPON COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT, SCFPD INTENDS TO COMPLETE FUELS REDUCTION TREATMENT ON NO LESS THAN 200 ACRES WITHIN THE AFOREMENTIONED COMMUNITIES. PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES DURING THE SAME PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE WILL CONSIST OF A MINIMUM OF (8) COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS AND COMPLETION OF APPROXIMATELY (100) DEFENSIBLE SPACE EVALUATIONS. THESE PROJECT GOALS WILL DIRECTLY BENEFIT RESIDENTS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS FIRST RESPONDERS SHOULD A WILDFIRE EVENT OCCUR. COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT FURTHER ENHANCES A CONCEPT OF LANDSCAPE-SCALE LEVEL FUELS TREATMENTS WITHIN STOREY COUNTY. THE MAJORITY OF SELECTED PROJECT AREAS ARE ADJACENT TO PREVIOUSLY CONDUCTED AND PRESENTLY ONGOING FUELS MANAGEMENT PROJECTS, BOTH ON PRIVATE AND FEDERAL LANDS. THIS TYPE OF COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BENEFITS ALL PARTIES INVOLVED, REGARDLESS OF JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES. BY UTILIZING MULTIPLE FUNDING SOURCES, INCLUDING ADDITIONAL FUELS MANAGEMENT GRANTS AND CONTRACTS, A MULTITUDE OF PROJECT AREAS WILL BE CAPTURED THAT OTHERWISE MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE RESOURCES FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION.