NORTHEAST WASHINGTON

FORESTRY COALITION

www.NEWCommunityForestry.org

Appropriation for the Ferry County Fire Plan

Implementation Stewardship Project

(February 18, 2006)

There is a need for an appropriation of $1 million to the Colville National Forest to be spent on project planning and preparation for the Ferry County Fire Plan Implementation Stewardship Project. This appropriation would be spent over a two year period resulting in on the ground fuels reduction treatment of at least 30,000 acres within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) zones of Ferry County under a Stewardship Contract. The Colville National Forest does not have the funding to plan and process this project within its 2006 budget. This additive appropriation will create the ability within the Colville National Forest to process NEPA, contract preparation and implementation of the project.

The Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition (NEWFC) has entered in to a formal Memorandum of Understanding with the Colville National Forest. This MOU has set up a collaborative process that has resulted in the successful planning and processing of several significant fuels reduction projects in the Colville National Forest. NEWFC has also been instrumental in the creation of Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) for the (WUI) zones of the National Forest. Ferry County will complete its Countywide CWPP by mid-2006 and has formally, through the Ferry County Commission, supported this request for an appropriation. The Ferry County CWPP will prioritize areas of more than 30,000 acres that are in severe need of fuels reduction. Stevens County, also within the Colville National Forest, will complete its Countywide CWPPs by mid-2006. Pend O’Reille County has completed its Countywide CWPP and is currently making minor modifications to that plan.

The collaboration process with NEWFC and the Colville National Forest staff has already identified an immediate and urgent need to address significant fuels reduction in the WUI zones of Ferry County. This Ferry County fuel-reduction initiative will create jobs in the woods and reduce the risk of wildfire to homes and communities. The appropriation will address these specific fuels reduction, forest restoration and economic needs.

This appropriation should be designated only towards the preparation, planning and implementation of the Ferry County Fire Plan Implementation Project. Target dates for acres treated should be set for calendar year 2008.