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Tahoe Basin Chapter Manager Deadline extend |
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Chair’s Annual Report to the Membership
Community Fire Safe Planning and Threat Mitigation Early in the year comprehensive community fire safe plans were completed for the Virginia City Highlands, Holbrook Junction, and Shantytown. At the same time an interagency threat mitigation team working in Clear Creek south of Carson City developed the following 3-phase planning approach to reduce the wildfire threat to at-risk communities: Phase I begins at home with the creation of defensible space around every house. Phase II identifies risks and hazards and develops mitigation strategies on a community-wide scale. Phase III focuses on neighboring lands, usually public, and seeks to encourage and support agency efforts to complete work that reinforces community efforts. The Board’s early planning experiences resulted in a thorough reassessment of our community planning outline and scope of work description. As a result of the review our request for proposals was rewritten and the three planning projects now underway in Spring Valley/Double Springs, Clear Creek, and Galena Forest Estates I are considerably more strategic and project oriented. This change in fundamental concept is clearly conveyed by the new title of the plans, “Community Risk Hazard Reduction and Project Implementation Plans.” Because no threat reduction plan would be complete without recommendations to create defensible space, Phase I fuel reduction work has been implemented in numerous communities before or in conjunction with Phase II planning efforts. Using this approach some measure of increased community protection is accomplished and not delayed unnecessarily by the various procedures required to secure a contractor and the time necessary to complete a plan. As a result, fuel reduction efforts to create defensible space are either underway or in some phase of planning in all 13 of the Council’s chapters. The Division of Forestry’s honor camp crews and the Nevada Conservation Corps. have both been invaluable resources to provide the labor necessary to complete this work. Internal Communications and Public Information Recognizing the need to improve internal communications, the Board approved the publishing and distribution of quarterly updates soon after the 2002 annual meeting. To date, three issues have been produced and distributed to every member in good standing. Each issue contains current information on chapter activities, funding, and other interesting developments. In addition the Board has endorsed and assisted in the production of news stories, documentaries, and fuel type specific curriculum materials for defensible space workshops. Coordinator Elwood Miller has given numerous well received public presentations on the Council’s activities. Most recently Dr. Miller and I appeared before the Nevada Assembly’s Natural Resources Committee to introduce the members to the Council and acquaint them with our accomplishments. The summary of first year accomplishments presented to this committee is attached to this report. Fuel Disposal and Biomass Utilization Cutting trees and brush to create defensible space or reduce fuel over larger areas is only the beginning of risk/hazard mitigation. Following cutting, the accumulated biological material, or biomass, must be disposed of or in some way removed from the threatened property. Traditional approaches include stacking and controlled burning, deposition in landfills, or composting. Public acceptance of burning has declined steadily over concerns regarding air quality and fire escape. Landfill managers are reticent to accept this material and tipping fees add to the cost of fuel reduction projects. The sheer quantity of material rapidly overwhelms composting capability. As a result the disposal of accumulated fuel becomes a substantial obstacle to the successful completion of threat reduction work. To overcome this obstacle, the Board has taken an active leadership role to seek beneficial uses of the accumulated biomass. Concerned about the declining life of its landfill, Carson City became a very strong and active partner in early and continuing discussions seeking alternative and beneficial uses of biomass. While new and exciting technologies abound, none could be seriously pursued until a reliable estimate of long-term feed stock volumes could be developed. Therefore the Board sought the help of an experienced firm in biomass volume estimates and awarded a contract to determine the long-term availability of biomass feed stock, from a variety of sources, within a geographical region 50 miles radius from Carson City. The results of this study will be finalized and available mid-summer, 2003. The award of this contract coupled with the support and cooperation of Carson City has stimulated the interest and involvement of numerous other entities with a future stake in the outcome. Recent discussions have involved over 20 individuals representing a wide variety of organizations with no indication of waning interest. Many participants clearly see this as a model project and are working to bring national attention and funding to ensure its visibility and success. The Council’s early and persistent voice has been a key element in focusing this discussion and moving forward with a project that promises to pay large dividends in resource management capability as well as economic development. The membership of the Nevada Fire Safe Council should be very proud of the role your organization has played in this effort and look forward to major developments over the coming year. In Closing In closing I want to give special recognition and pay tribute to the individuals who have served you and your organization as officers and members of the Board of Directors. This has been a very productive but also demanding year. Members of the Board have given unselfishly of their time and extraordinary talents to meet high expectations and ensure success. What follows is a brief and admittedly incomplete listing of highlights. Over the past year the Board has: § Developed and approved fiscal policies to govern accounting and expenditure procedures to ensure compliance with federal and stated regulations. § Researched and secured an insurance carrier to provide directors and officers liability protection. § Developed and maintained membership records in the face of substantial membership growth. § Developed procedures to capture and track in-kind contributions provided in conjunction with community projects. § Completed an in-depth review of the initial community fire planning template; created a revised template to more accurately reflect community needs; developed and distributed requests for proposals; and awarded three planning contracts. One firm indicated that the RFP was the best they had seen in seven years. § Developed a request for proposal to complete a biomass assessment, reviewed proposals, and awarded a contract. § Competed a memorandum of understanding to utilize Nevada Conservation Corps crews on fuel reduction projects. § Competed a strategic plan that established standing committees to better distribute the growing workload of the Board. § Agreed to administer NDF’s Forest Stewardship project funding thereby helping property owners avoid an onerous tax burden. § Developed, reviewed, and approved the submission of 13 grant proposals in support of community risk/hazard mitigation projects. § Agreed to co-host the first national fire safe council conference at Lake Tahoe in May, 2003. In the spring of 1999, the attendees at Nevada’s first fire conference called for the creation of an organization that would focus on the wildfire threat to this state’s at-risk communities. They described a vision and outlined a mission. Day-by-day, month-by-month that vision is becoming a reality and the mission is being accomplished. Along with fellow officers Ronna Hubbard, Secretary/Treasurer, Fred Zaga, Vice Chair and all members of the Board I want to thank the membership for the privilege you have afforded us to serve this vision and mission. Respectfully Submitted Ed Smith Chair, The Nevada Fire Safe Council Board of Directors 4/23/03 |
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