<< previous session  |  next session >>

Register for the WSS!

Friday, 11:15am

Even prior to the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, communities across the country recognized the need for increased collaboration in assessing wildfire risk, reducing hazardous fuels on public and private land and increasing community capacity for emergency management and public education and outreach. There are numerous tools, resources, and case studies that can assist communities in revitalizing their community fire planning efforts. This session will explore resources for developing, implementing and monitoring CWPPs.  Learn about case studies of collaborative CWPPs and get on-the-ground examples of CWPPs that address restoration, and stewardship of public and private lands.
 

Speakers

• Alex Cousins, Trinity County Resource Conservation District
  Fire planning and restoration in Trinity County
• Victoria Sturtevant, Professor, Sociology, Southern Oregon University
  Case studies from collaborative CWPP efforts
• Joseph Vaile, Campaign Director, Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands
  Kicking dirt with the Josephine County Stewardship Group

Moderator

Ann Walker, Program Director, Western Governor’s Association Forest Health Advisory Committee

Recommended Readings

Community Wildfire Protection Guides and Resources

• Community Guide to Preparing and Implementing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (August 2008) and the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP): How-to-Guide (March 2004)
• Community Wildfire Protection Plan Monitoring and Evaluation Guide (August 2004)
• Strategies for assisting low-income and underserved communities develop and implement CWPPs (August 2004)
• Beyond Planning: Stewardship Contracting as a Management Tool for Implementing CWPPs (August 2004)
  
  Other Community Fire Planning Resources

• Firewise
• International Association of Fire Chief’s Leader’s Guide for Developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan
• National Database of State and Local Wildfire Mitigation Programs, a source for information on ordinances
• Forest Service Partnership Resource Center
• Joint Fire Sciences Enhancing Collaboration and Community Capacity for Community Wildfire Protection Plans
• Tribal Wildfire Resource Guide (2006), Intertribal Timber Council
  
  
  

<< previous session  |  next session >>

Alex Cousins

It would be hard to imagine Alex Cousins ever getting bored with his new job at the District with all the hats he gets to wear. Alex, who joined the RCD in April, has quickly garnered new responsibilities as the need has arisen, kind of like a snowball rolling downhill in a blizzard, with a tailwind.

Some of his current roles include being the Trinity River Watershed Coordinator, a grants writer, Biomass Utilization Coordinator, and serving as the District's CEQA coordinator for a Trinity River Restoration Program project. Alex has dived into each of these jobs with enthusiasm and surfaced with a grin.

As watershed coordinator he helps bring together local, state and federal natural resources agencies doing work in the Trinity River watershed. The purpose is to help improve communication, prioritize projects and create a synergy of efforts to achieve and maintain watershed health. As biomass utilization coordinator Alex works with the Northwest California Resource Conservation and Development Council to find and promote innovative applications for forest materials too small to be processed into boards. This woody biomass is often residue like tree limbs, tops, or undersize trees from fuels reduction projects or timber harvests and typically has no commercial value. The goal is to find applications that add economic value to this underutilized material that ordinarily is disposed of by burning. Applications include manufacture of specialty products, generation of electricity, production of pellets for heat, and other products such as garden mulch. As CEQA coordinator, Alex ensures the District complies with the California Environmental Quality Act and that the public receives ample opportunities to comment on proposed projects.

Alex is a Trinity County native. His parents moved to Hyampom in the early 1970s, and he was raised in that community until his parents moved to Weaverville in the mid-80s. He attended Trinity High School, got his Bachelor�s degree in anthropology and Latin American studies before heading to San Diego State University to earn his Master's degree in Latin American Studies with emphasis in economics and politics. He enjoys traveling and has traveled extensively in Central and South America. When he finds time to play, Alex is out of doors, cycling, kayaking, hiking and exploring all the great places and activities Trinity County is known for.

Victoria Sturtevant

Victoria Sturtevant has taught sociology and environmental studies at Southern Oregon University since 1980. She studies and teaches social dimensions of forest management, particularly community involvement in social assessment, ecological monitoring, wildfire planning and collaborative stewardship. Currently she works with regional groups such as the Southern Oregon Small Diameter Collaborative, the Alliance of Forest Workers and Harvesters, the Applegate Partnership and Resource Innovations. She has contributed to various workshops, GTRs and books on collaboration, community assessment and wildfire planning; coedited a book, Forest Community Connections; and published articles in Society and Natural Resources, Journal of Forestry and Journal of Community Development.

Joseph Vaile

Joseph Vaile is the Campaign Director for the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, or KS Wild as they are locally known, where he has worked for nearly 10 years. Based in Ashland, Oregon, KS Wild works to protect old-growth forests, fish and wildlife habitat and threatened species across 10-million acres in northern California and southern Oregon. Joseph’s background is in wildlife biology, and he worked for a stint with the BLM looking for spotted owls and other rare species in southern Oregon. The Klamath-Siskiyou region is globally recognized for its biological diversity and complex mixed-conifer forest ecosystems, making restoration-based forest management a significant challenge. The communities and forest management ideologies in the region mirror this diversity, with a wide range of interests and philosophies. Consensus around restoration, especially forest thinning, is often difficult to achieve. Collaboration requires ample stakeholder input and vetting concerns with agency personnel, conservationists, timber purchasers and community members. In addition to his wildlife, wilderness and forest advocacy work with KS Wild, Joseph is KS Wild’s representative on several collaborative groups in the region, including the Southern Oregon Small Diameter Collaborative, the Josephine County Fire Plan Stewardship Group and the Hayfork Collaborative in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.the Helicopter Pilot/Certified Flight Instructor Program at Hillsboro Aviation. ’s Association Forest Health Advisory Committee

Ann Walker

Ann has served as an active member of the WGA’s Forest Health Advisory Committee for several years and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the International Association of Wildland Fire.  Ann has been involved with the 10 Year Comprehensive Strategy Implementation Plan 2002 and 2006 update and is currently the National Association of State Foresters Lead for developing the Community Guide to Preparing and Implementing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan.  The guide will complete three tasks associated with the 10 YR Implementation Plan.  Ann previously held the position of National Fire Plan Coordinator for the Oregon Department of Forestry and has 25 years experience in policy development and coordination of community and forestry programs. Ann is the mother of one son, Cordell Walker, 19 who lives in Hillsboro, Oregon.  He is currently attending the Helicopter Pilot/Certified Flight Instructor Program at Hillsboro Aviation. ’s Association Forest Health Advisory Committee