PROGRAMS to prevent losses from WILDFIRE

Transcription

1 PROGRAMS to prevent losses from WILDFIRE Visit our website:

2 The University of Nevada, Reno is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, creed, national origin, veteran status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, in any program or activity it operates. The University of Nevada employs only United States citizens and aliens lawfully authorized to work in the United States.

3 Living with Fire In 1997, the Living With Fire (LWF) program was created to bring together various agencies and stakeholders to teach people how to live more safely in the high wildfire hazard environments of the eastern Sierra Front. LWF focuses on pre-fire activities that homeowners can engage in to greatly improve the chances their homes will survive a wildfire. This initial project was sponsored by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE), the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station and Sierra Front Wildfire Cooperators (12 Nevada and California firefighting agencies). This collaboration takes a three-pronged approach: * Research. With the same high-tech tools NASA uses satellite imagery and geographic information systems university specialists developed 72 wildfire hazard rating maps covering 3,200 square miles and delivered them to firefighters. * Recommendations. Specialists coordinate consistent recommendations for defensible space distance and vegetation management. * Education. Educators train professional landscapers and neighborhood groups in defensible space and firescape techniques. LWF took to the airwaves in 2000 (see page 2) and republished its successful Living With Fire tabloid (see page 2). The program has received attention, not only in Nevada during the Arrowcreek Fire when homeowners received the emergency evacuation handout, but throughout the West and nationally as well. Contact: Ed Smith UNCE Natural Resource Specialist Phone: (775) , FAX (775) smithe@unce.unr.edu In April 2000, Ed Smith received one of only ten Bronze Smokey-the-Bear Awards given annually by the U.S. Forest Service, The Advertising Council and the National Association of State Foresters. The award recognizes sustained, outstanding, statewide service in wildland fire prevention over a minimum of two years. Living With Fire also received a 2000 Silver Spike Award of Excellence from the Public Relations Society of America, Sierra Nevada Chapter, and the First Place Community Service Award from the Nevada Press Association. 1

4 Popular Living With Fire tabloid saves homes during 2000 fire season Western Nevada firefighters credited their success in saving some Reno houses during the 2000 fire season to the best roofing materials, and gives home construction tips and wildfire evacuation procedures. Nearly two million copies of Living With Fire have been printed in 11 other western states, making it the most widely distributed piece of its kind in the West. This is one of the best documents I ve found that illustrates wildfire hazards and mitigation options and techniques, said a Colorado wildfire safety coordinator, who used Nevada s master CD-ROM to print 750,000 copies for inserting in Colorado newspapers. Copies of the guide can be found at University of Nevada Cooperative Extension offices, fire stations, or it can be downloaded at: FrontPage.html Public-Education Campaign homeowners efforts in adopting defensible space and other strategies recommended in the popular guide. The 12-page publication shows homeowners how to protect their property from the threat of wildfire. Step by step, the guide shows people how to create an effective defensible space around their home, giving recommended vegetation, fire-safe landscape designs and practices to remove dead vegetation. It discusses the 2 During the summer 2000 fire season, Living With Fire educated western Nevada residents about the need to protect homes against wildfire through: * Television PSAs and interviews * Radio PSAs and 30-minute shows * Outdoor Billboards * Living With Fire tabloid inserted in western Nevada newspapers, as well as in Elko, Humboldt and Lander Counties * Newspaper interviews * Workshops featuring defensible space * PowerPoint presentation * Exhibit shown at Nevada State Fair and the Tahoe Fire Fest

5 Only ewes can prevent wildfire Carson City C-Hill project gets national attention In spring 1999 in collaboration with the Carson City Fire Department, Nevada Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service and BLM, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station brought 350 ewes to the urban-wildland interface of Carson City C-Hill, an area known for its propensity to burn. It was a pilot project to evaluate the effectiveness and practicality of controlled sheep grazing to create fuel breaks. A 2.5-mile, 200-foot-wide corridor of C-Hill was cross-fenced to create 20 mini-pastures, then grazed at varying intensities. The results (calculated by weighing pounds of vegetation per acre in grazed and ungrazed areas): 71 to 83 percent of fine fuels (vegetation smaller than a pencil in diameter) was removed. The vegetation was reduced from an average height of inches before grazing to inches after grazing. Overall, the sheep reduced the amount of wildfire fuel anywhere from 700 to 2,000 pounds per acre, depending on the treatment. The sheep also trampled the cheatgrass, further reducing the fire hazard. Ninety percent of nearby homeowners said they support the project and prefer the sheep to other methods of creating fuel breaks, such as mechanical removal, controlled burning and herbicide use. A year later, Sen. Richard Bryan and others visited the site and measured the vegetation, reporting that the grazing still effectively reduced flammable vegetation, such as cheatgrass, in the area. The sheep attracted national media attention with features in the New York Times, Sacramento Bee, Arizona Daily Star, Sports Afield, Baxter Black s syndicated column and Paul Harvey s radio commentary. In addition to 20 articles in western Nevada newspapers, a Reno Gazette-Journal editorial commented, These are the kinds of innovative ideas that will help us better manage our area. 3

6 Expanded sheep experiment in Battle Mountain area reduces cheatgrass and mustard A second project utilizing livestock to manage fuel and help restore Nevada s arid rangelands was initiated in 2000, north of Battle Mountain. The controlled experiment evaluates the difference between mechanical weed control/seeding techniques and using sheep to accomplish the same treatments. With the help of the BLM and Nevada Division of Forestry, treatments were implemented on 48 acres of rangeland. The plots grazed by sheep reduced production of annual mustard by 45 percent from the nontreated control, and fire-prone cheatgrass production was reduced by more than 66 percent. The native and introduced seeding success levels will be determined in the fall of This project was funded by the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources Arid Lands Initiative. BLM reports use of sheep grazing saves money In 2000, the Elko District Bureau of Land Management conducted an expanded version of the Battle Mountain trial, utilizing 1,000 head of sheep to graze 700 acres of rangeland in preparation of a post-fire seeding. The initial results suggest that sheep are effective in reducing the amount of competitive weeds in rangeland seedings. The BLM reported the controlled sheep grazing saved them $8 an acre compared to mechanical weed control methods. Contacts: Rod Davis, UNCE Extension Educator Phone: (775) , FAX (775) davisr@unce.unr.edu Jay Davison, UNCE Plant and Soil Specialist Phone: (775) , FAX (775) davisonj@unce.unr.edu 4 Ed Smith, UNCE Natural Resource Specialist Phone: (775) , FAX (775) smithe@unce.unr.edu

7 Compost your Combustibles In partnership with local fire districts, governmental entities, refuse companies and composters, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension created an innovative program in 1998 that teaches Douglas County homeowners how to reduce the wildfire threat around their homes by disposing of vegetation. The program teaches property owners about defensible space practices and vegetation management at neighborhood workshops, provides free disposal of vegetation at convenient drop-off locations, and transports the vegetation to an operation that recycles it into compost for agricultural and landscape uses. In 2000, educational direct-mail pieces were developed and mailed to 2,700 residents in targeted high fire-hazard areas. In 2000, hundreds of homeowners removed 664 tons of potential wildfire fuels from their properties a 20 percent increase over what was collected in That s 664 tons of material that won t be available for the next wildfire, but also weren t dumped or burned. Local fire departments were happy to report a dramatic reduction in burn permit requests since the program s inception. Contact: Steve Lewis, UNCE Extension Educator Phone: (775) , FAX (775) lewiss@unce.unr.edu 5

8 Preparing communities for wildfire: the Eureka model In 1999, more than 218,000 acres of public and private lands were consumed by wildland fire in Eureka County alone. University of Nevada Cooperative Extension economists reported the economic losses to the livestock sector in a five-county region were $13 million. The impacts include lost grazing, rebuilding structures and fences, soil-conservation efforts and reseeding burned rangelands. To be prepared for future wildfires, the Eureka County Extension Educator developed a fire awareness program, assisting with group process, volunteer training and development of a management plan. After certification by the University of Nevada Fire Academy as an instructor, he trained seven local personnel as Incident Commanders. Their education included public safety issues and pre- and post-fire impacts to natural resources and fire suppression. Only 18,000 acres burned in Eureka County in 2,000. Adjacent counties are adopting this plan to get their personnel trained as well. Contact: Willie Riggs, UNCE Extension Educator Phone: (775) , FAX (775) riggsw@unce.unr.edu 6

9 The Nevada Fire Safe Council This council was born in response to the 1999 Living With Fire Forum conference resolution that called for the creation of an organization that would assemble diverse interests in a unified coalition that will work on solutions to reduce loss of lives and property from the threat of fire in Nevada communities. After the fire forum, representatives from 23 private and governmental agencies continued to meet to implement the resolution. University of Nevada Cooperative Extension continued leadership and obtained non-profit status for the council and helped local community councils get started. Several of these are the Westside Carson City Council and the Virginia Highlands Council (see below). Contact: Ed Smith, UNCE Natural Resource Specialist Phone: (775) , FAX (775) smithe@unce.unr.edu The Virginia Highlands Council Under the moniker, Fire Safe Highlands, this program motivates residents to undertake fire-safe activities in the Virginia City Highlands, and apply a community approach to reducing the wildfire threat through education and collaboration. The program began with workshops in the Virginia City Highlands in the spring and summer of 2000, where forest health and defensible space training was conducted. Responses to a brainstorming session on What would you like to see to make the highlands fire safe? were compiled and mailed to all local residents. Workshops continued, along with monthly newsletters to residents highlighting topics of wildfire safety. Work project ideas include marking ingress and egress routes, coordinating wildfire hazard fuel cleanup days and community planning for fuel breaks and green stripping. A coalition of concerned residents has surfaced and is expanding with each monthly meeting. Positive working relationships are forming between residents and Storey County officials. It is expected this program will be a role model for future neighborhood action coalitions. Contact: Marlene Rebori, UNCE Community and Organizational Development Specialist Phone: (775) , FAX (775) reborim@unce.unr.edu 7

10 Post-fire rehabilitation of rangelands University of Nevada Cooperative Extension range specialists work with other agencies and private and public land managers in various projects and experiments that help to rehabilitate fire-ravaged rangelands and restore them to a productive status. Scientists study a variety of soil preparations, seeding methods and seed species to determine the most efficient and effective methods of rangeland restoration. Following are a sampling of these efforts: * Planting of native seeds and grasses to revegetate burned areas and replace fire-prone cheatgrass and also as an alternative crop for farmers in experimental trials. * Revegetation of burned areas, adaptive sheep grazing strategies, leafy spurge weed control and herbicide application with the cooperation of private landowners on an Elko ranch. * GIS strategies for landscape management of the cheatgrass fire cycle. Studies investigate past emergency fire rehabilitation projects, using remote sensing, to predict future successes on a diversity of ecological sites. * Investigations on the impacts of fire frequency changes on riparian zones and watersheds. Contacts: Jay Davison, UNCE Plant and Soil Specialist Phone: (775) , FAX (775) davisonj@unce.unr.edu Kent McAdoo, UNCE Rangeland Resources Specialist Phone: (775) , FAX (775) mcadook@unce.unr.edu 8 Sherm Swanson, UNCE State Range Specialist Phone: (775) , FAX (775) sswanson@cabnr.unr.edu