Reducing Fire Risk on Your Forest Property, PNW 618

Target Audience

This tri-state Extension publication is aimed at forest owners, forestry consultants, Extension educators, state & federal natural resource agencies and forestry & landscape contractors who conduct fuel reduction work.

Issues Addressed

Wildfire is an important issue in the western USA. Wildfires burn millions of acres of private and public forestland each year and destroy hundreds of homes. While there is an abundance of educational materials focused on home protection and defensible space, there was no comprehensive guide for fuel reduction and creating fire-resilient forests on private forest land in the Pacific Northwest. This publication fills that void. Topics addressed include fire behavior basics, principles of creating fire-resilient forests, fuel reduction methods, roads and access, creating fuel breaks, incorporating other management objectives, water sources, fire laws, and sources of assistance. The publication also features case examples of private forest landowners from Oregon and Washington who have treated fuels to reduce their wildfire risk. The overall goal for this publication is to help forest landowners is to help landowners develop and implement effective forest management strategies for creating fire-resilient forests.

Distribution

This publication was published as a PNW Extension (Washington, Oregon and Idaho) publication and as such has been distributed via the internet to Extension programs in all three states. A limited number of hard copies were printed and are being used to promote the publication to various audiences in the Pacific Northwest. However, the primary means for obtaining this publication is online. The publication and accompanying web address is promoted in PowerPoint presentations by the authors and others on fuel reduction on forest lands so audiences can download it at their own convenience. The link to this publication has also been sent to Extension educators and specialists in other states.

Resources Involved

The publication was authored by Extension forestry and natural resource specialists from Oregon, Washington and Idaho. In addition, one of the co-authors is a forestry consultant from southern Oregon who has extensive experience in fuel reduction work and working with family forest owners. We utilized an editor and obtained additional photos from various agencies and individuals. Before final print, the publication received three sets of technical reviews. Reviewers included experts from county, state, and federal forestry and fire experts, consultants, and others. We also had a cadre of woodland owners review earlier drafts to insure readability and that we covered all the pertinent topics in enough detail. These reviews helped improve the publication’s structure and content and made it more “reader friendly” and useful for the target audience.

Evaluation Results

Since the time (December 2010) the publication was placed on the Oregon State University, Washington State University, and University of Idaho Extension Program websites, there has been over 20,000 web hits and over 1,000 actual downloads. Numerous users have commented that they found the publication highly relevant and useful towards improving the management of their forest property. The Oregon Department of Forestry regularly uses the publication in their educational events and, for example, requested the use of photos and diagrams in the publication and created a short (2 page) handout on fuel reduction principles. John O’Conner, Fire Prevention Specialist with the Oregon Department of Forestry in southern Oregon, states that “….the PNW 618 publication provides a lot of useful information for forest landowners…..and explores the larger picture of balancing fuel reduction, wildfire mitigation, and timber production with ecology, forest health and wildlife habitat considerations….. all core elements in a sustainable forest.” The publication's link is showing up on websites of other organizations, indicating broad acceptance and adoption with forestland community. For example, the Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition (CWSC) out of Leavenworth, Washington, sent out the link to this publication to their members via email newsletters and has placed it on their website at: www.chumstickcoalition.org/resources. According to the CWSC email newsletter, "more people visited this publication than any other publication ever distributed by the CWSC. If you haven't done so yet, we encourage you to make use of that great resource."

Given this widespread and enthusiastic response, it appears likely this publication will continue to appear on more and more agency and association websites.

Implications for Future Programming

The publication was written with target audience (described above) in mind primarily because there was little information available in the way of forest fire risk reduction educational materials that were comprehensive, yet accessible to lay audiences. As a secondary objective, the authors are using the information and materials developed for this publication in workshops and classes on fuel reduction and creating fire resilient forests. For example, many of the photos, diagrams and tables have been incorporated into PowerPoint presentations and other educational materials.

Files

Reducing Fire Risk on Your Forest Property -pnw618

This is a pdf of the publication, Reducing Fire Risk on Your Forest Property, PNW 618.