Healthy Forest Restoration Act HFRA
The most prominent piece of the HFRA is that the counties will now have the authority to identify the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) often called the “Woo-EE”. The WUI is the area surrounding a community, structures, water sources or infra-structure that could be significantly damaged by wildfire. The counties will determine how large the WUI should be and its location in the county. Many counties have Fire Mitigation Plans or Community Based Fire Plans that identify the treatment areas within the WUI. Funding for these plans have come from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Lands (IDL). Counties with Plans will have an opportunity to receive funding for fuel treatment projects throughout the WUI. The HFRA provides the authority, funding and a mechanism for the counties to implement fuel treatment projects to help protect and mitigate the effects of wildfire in their communities.
In addition to the HFRA act, the National
Fire Plan (NFP) has been supporting communities and counties for the past
three years. Also Forest Stewardship Contracting allows for the trade
of goods for services and would involve 7 to 10 year contracts to implement
treatments on federal lands. Forest Stewardship contracting supports
communities by allowing for local involvement, a longer time frame and
an opportunity to implement the needed treatment adjacent to the communities.
There are many acronyms and many different opportunities for counties and
communities to look at. The US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management
and the State of Idaho will be coming out with more information.
If you have questions, give us a call at (208) 883-4488.
Contact us today for a free consultation about the management of your forestlands, marketing of your timber products, wildfire control efforts, or prescribed burning needs. We also provide the region's best wildlife management, watershed management, and forest regeneration services. Explore our site and let us know how we can best serve you!