University Cooperative Extension offices, which are traditional partnerships between USDA, state universities, and county governments offer assistance to individuals and communities in dealing with wildfire challenges in their back yards. I checked with two offices, University of California and University of Nevada, to see what information and services are available.
UC Davis and Berkeley campuses have free materials to assist California residents in becoming aware of wildfire issues and the tough choices facing them as the urban-wildland interface ('I-Zone') becomes larger and more fire-prone. A 41 page book summarizes research in six case studies. It was written by UC Davis and Berkeley researchers, funded by the USDA project, 'Wildland Fire: Examining the Interrelationships of Natural and Social Systems'. The accompanying video highlights for landowners and residents the risks inherent in living in a fire-driven ecosystem, and three strategic options being considered by communities. It gives an objective summary of the pros and cons associated with these options: fuel reduction, increased protection of communities, and shifting suppression and restoration costs from the public sector to individuals living in the I-Zone. There are a couple of brochures intended to facilitate cooperative forums, used here to foster effective public deliberation on wildfire issues. They follow the National Issue Forums process developed by the Kettering Association.
To order copies of any of the following, contact California Communities Program, Human and Community Development, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-8523, (530)752-3007.
1. İİİ 'How can we live with wild land fire?' - 41 page booklet
2. İİİ 'WILDLAND FIRE: How can we live with it?' - 14 minute video
3. İİİ Six Case Studies
4. İİİ 'How can we live with wildland fire? The issue in brief for community deliberation' - a summary pamphlet
5. İİİ 'Holding a discussion group or public forum on 'How can we live with wildland fire?' - a pamphlet
6. İİİ A post-discussion questionnaire to be sent to Wildland Fire Issue group at UCD for compilation.
University of Nevada at Reno Cooperative Extension office has a western Great Basin version of the 'Living with Fire' program that includes free publications and a very good website: www.nce.unr.edu/programs/pilot.fire.html. Ed Smith, an author in this Networker, provides outreach to educate the public on living with fire. For more information, contact him at (775) 782-9960. John Cobourn at University of Nevada (and WMC board member) is involved in ongoing facilitation of the Forest Health Consensus Group in the Lake Tahoe Basin. This community forum is grappling with how to manage different zones for fire protection in the basin.
To order publications for landowners in the western Great Basin, contact Ron Barrett at (775) 861-6501.
Various wildland management agencies are working on the 'I-Zone' problem, from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection with their statewide fire management plan, to the USFS with its evolving philosophy toward fire management. Check out these websites for starters:
http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/fire_plan/executive_summary.html
http://www.r5.fs.fed.us/fire/prevention_programs/index.html
CDF has a program geared toward small landowners called the California Stewardship Program. It produces a quarterly publication called Forestland Steward. The spring and summer issues had several articles of interest. The Program is holding Forest Stewardship Workshops in the summer and fall of ¹99 to tell about assistance programs for California family forestland owners, and has a helpline (1-800-738-8733). To get on a mailing list for the newsletter, write CDF, Forestry Assistance, P.O. Box 944246, Sacramento, CA 94244-2460, phone (916) 653-8286, or email jim_geiger@fire.ca.gov.
The National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Protection Program has information for individuals and groups in all states, and even internationally. This program, for those who live or own land in fire-prone areas, is sponsored by the USDA Forest Service and the Department of the Interior. It has a five-star website which is fully searchable with pages for publications, videos, downloads and forums. The seasonal online forum question posted in Summer 99 asked how the reader defined the urban-wildland interface. Some archived questions were even more provocative: 'How has El Niño affected your fire season and how do you anticipate the Southern Oscillation affecting the next season?', and 'What have you done in your home or community to protect yourself'. Perhaps best of all are the numerous links to fire organization and government sites in other states. Check it out: www.firewise.org-
Their homepage nav screen is shown below.
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