PREPARING A COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN
A Handbook for Wildland-Urban Interface Communities
Sponsored By:
Communities
Committee
Society of American Foresters
National Association of
Counties
National Association
of State Foresters
Western Governors' Association
Additional Web Resources
Links to Existing Plans
Commonly Asked Questions and Answers
This Handbook is
intended to provide communities with a concise, step-by-step guide to
use in developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), as recommended
in the Healthy
Forest Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA) (P.L. 108-148).
The HFRA provides communities with a tremendous opportunity to influence
where and how federal agencies implement fuel reduction projects on federal
lands. A CWPP is the most effective way to take advantage of this opportunity.
Additionally, communities with CWPPs in place will be given priority for
funding of hazardous fuels reduction projects carried out under the auspices
of the HFRA.
The Handbook outlines:
how to convene other interested parties,
what elements to consider in assessing community risks and priorities,
and
how to develop a mitigation or protection plan to address those
risks.
To read the Handbook
click here.
This guide is not a legal document, although the recommendations contained
here carefully conform to both the spirit and the letter of the HFRA.
The outline provided offers one of several possible approaches to planning.
We hope it will prove useful in helping at-risk communities establish
recommendations and priorities that protect their citizens, homes, and
essential infrastructure and resources from the destruction of catastrophic
wildfire.
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