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2004 Grand
Teton Streamlined EA Fuels Project Summary, October 2004
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Prescribed Fire and Fuels
Management
Buffalo Valley Fuels Project
The Buffalo Valley has been identified in the 2001 federal interagency report titled - Urban Wildland Interface Communities Within the Vicinity of Federal Lands That Are at High Risk From Wildfire. Forest Service personnel have discussed the needs for fuels reduction treatments in this area with local community leaders, including the County Commissioners, and held a public meeting in May of 2004 at the Moran School addressing the need for treatments in the area.
Decisions will be issued in the near future for projects adjacent to the Blackrock Ranger Station and along the Buffalo Valley Road from HWY 26/287 to Turpin Meadows, and will be categorically excluded from documentation in Environmental Assessments or Environmental Impact Statements as described in Forest Service Handbook 1909.15 section 31.2(10) and the Healthy Forests Initiative of 2002.
The proposed Forest Service treatment areas have private structures located on nearby private ground or on Forest Service permitted areas and administrative sites. These areas all have fuel characteristics which contribute to high flammability and resistance to control by fire crews. Conditions include but are not limited to high volumes of dead and down woody material, closely spaced trees with interlocking crowns, numerous small trees in the understory and conifer encroachment in aspen stands. These conditions are the result of years of fire exclusion, drought, insects and disease, wildlife browsing, and vegetative growth.
Thinning of live trees and snags, reduction of dead and down fuel volumes, rejuvenating aspen stands, and breaking the continuity of sagebrush fields would reduce the potential intensity of wildfires, providing a safer environment for firefighters to efficiently undertake suppression actions. Commercial utilization of thinned forest fuels will be an option under any fuels reduction activities taken. The proposed treatments would create conditions where under all but the most severe weather conditions, fire spread will be limited to low intensity ground fire that can be attacked by firefighters on the ground. Torching of trees and the potential for a fire to develop into a crown fire will be reduced. Costs of fire suppression will be reduced significantly, and there will be an increased chance for controlling the fire before it reaches private structures. The likelihood of fires starting on private lands and developing into large wildfires on public lands would also be reduced.
Mitigation measures addressing impacts to wildlife and other concerns will be part of requirements prior to implementing the fuels reduction projects.
Requests for information should be directed to:
Jackson Ranger District, Bridger-Teton National
Forest
Attention: Chris Vero/ Fire Management Fuels Projects Email: cvero@fs.fed.us
P.O. Box 1689 Phone: 307-739-5418
Jackson WY 83001
Teton Area Wildfire Protection Coalition
Next meeting: Thursday, August 4, 2005 - 7:00 p.m. at the Jackson Fire/EMS Station 1, 60 E. Pearl Street, Jackson, Wyoming.
The Teton Area Wildfire Protection Coalition is a newly formed interagency working group developed to enhance a comprehensive, collaborative approach to community wildland fire protection. The coalition will focus on using diverse backgrounds and viewpoints to implement fuels projects to benefit the community. The coalition's specific objectives are to educate citizens about steps to mitigate wildland fire, provide technical review of fuel reduction and forest stewardship plans, and facilitate funding opportunities for wildland fire fuels management projects.
The organization's membership is comprised of local land management agencies, land trust and conservation organizations, and contractors directly involved in wildland fire protection projects as well as citizens who represent the interests of the community. Meetings are open to the public.
The coalition's work goes hand in hand with the guidelines established for the National Fire Plan, enacted in 2001, which provides funding to better plan and prepare for wildland fire, particularly for mitigating risk in wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas. The National Fire Plan laid the foundation for a long-term program of work to reduce hazardous fuels, restore health to fire-adapted ecosystems, and promote community assistance. Collaboration at the local, regional, and national levels are key to the National Fire Plan's implementation strategy.
To learn more about the Teton Area Wildlife Protection Coalition, call Jackson Fire/EMS at (307) 733-4732.
