While the plan is still in the initial stages of implementation, several lessons can be drawn from the experience of pulling it together. Critical to the success of this plan was and continues to be grass roots community involvement. One member of the planning team remarked, "I think what is exciting …is that it was a community driven process. The agencies were partners in that process, but actually pushed by the community." Capitalizing on the heightened community interest and commitment to fuel hazard reduction, the agencies plan to highlight the coordinated strategies between private and public lands as a basis for additional funding requests for education, equipment, and groundwork. So far, the involvement of community members has allowed parties to leverage $250,000 in grants in 2002 alone for fuel hazard reduction on private lands.
In addition to more funds to manage fire on private lands, project proponents believe that because of the extensive community involvement in developing this plan, projects will be implemented more efficiently and effectively. One agency representative notes, "there is a lot of emphasis right now on trying to coordinate [fuels reduction treatments] between private and federal landowners so that we can get the same contractor for instance, which is cheaper…if we treat a particular piece of land and a private landowner treats his at the same time, then we've got a landscape area [that has been treated because] the fire is not going to stop at the boundary." Given that over thirty percent of the valley is privately owned, community involvement in fuels reduction and fire planning is essential. Because there is a need to foster greater public participation in fuel hazard reduction and fire planning, the Community Fire Plan has several resources to facilitate public involvement such as maps of neighborhoods displaying projects that need to be done, lists of local contractors who can provide on-the-ground work, guidance for how to get reimbursed for expenses incurred in fuel reduction, as well as a form for private landowners to complete, enabling them to identify and prioritize fire management strategies on their own lands.
An overriding lesson understood by participants who worked on this plan is the critical role relationship building played in achieving shared goals. Creating a fire management plan involving over twenty organizations active in a 500,000-acre watershed was a significant accomplishment made possible by individuals willing to solicit meaningful participation from the public, consistently meet with one another, and to constructively debate fire management strategies. Although some community members and agencies were reluctant to dedicate time and energy participating in such a large-scale planning effort, a majority of parties believed collaboration was essential to effectively manage fire in the valley. One representative from the Forest Service remarked that the planning process validated the work the agency was doing in the public eye and helped community members better understand the complex challenges the agency faced in managing fire in the watershed.
Listening to the public and incorporating their views in the planning process not only helped strengthen the relationship between the agencies and the public, but also helped the parties resolve a number of difficult issues. One member of the project team noted, "People who have good relationships with their neighbors can find some agreement on some really contentious issues. If those relationships are not nurtured or maintained then it becomes easier to do something that is not in the best interest of your neighbors." Another agency representative noted that because relationships between the agencies and the community have improved through this process, there is a greater interest among community members to lend their time and energy to experimenting with innovative ways of fuel hazard reduction on private and public lands.
Although it is too early to say whether this Community Fire Plan will help organizations more effectively manage fire in the valley, the parties are very optimistic. Given the serious threat of fire in the valley and the number of organizations that own or manage land in the watershed, there is a pressing need for greater cooperation and coordination in fire planning. Guided by sound leadership, the parties started and ended this process committed to inter-jurisdictional planning and community involvement. The plan has already served as the basis for several funding proposals, spin off partnerships between private and public landowners, as well as a tool for uniting parties involved in landscape-level fire planning.
