Fuel Reduction

Fuel Reduction
Local contractors thin trees and lop limbs to protect Wallowa Lake homes from wildfire.

Community Wildfire Protection

Working with the US Forest Service, the Oregon Department of Forestry and private landowners Wallowa Resources helps organize fuels reduction projects to create defensible space and reduce the risk of catastrophic fire to private property in Wallowa County .  Wallowa Resources also co-facilitated an effort to create and implement a Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

Alder Slope Fuels Reduction. In 2004 and 2005 Wallowa Resources cost-shared fuel-reduction thinning with homeowners to create a fire break and reduce fire danger around homes and other structures.  Thirty-eight landowners have participated and 155 acres have been treated.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan. In response to the increased wildfire risk across the County, and the encouragement offered by the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, Wallowa County has developed a Community Wildfire Protection Plan.  Wallowa Resources and the Oregon Department of Forestry co-facilitated this collaborative effort, which involved federal, state and local fire managers, tribal representation, public and private land managers, emergency services staff, as well as community and environmental groups.  The plan identifies current wildfire hazards based on fuel types and conditions and historic natural ignition patterns.  With input from six public meetings, it then identifies the critical public values (including public safety and property, municipal water supplies, threatened and endangered species habitat, etc.), which are at risk from wildfire.  By merging these layers, the community created a map illustrating priority areas for fuel reduction treatments.  The plan also discusses issues of safety, emergency communications and response, and the potential economic opportunities from forest biomass utilization.  Learn more at the Wallowa County Community Wildfire Protection Plan website.

Previous fuel reduction efforts in our community include the Wallowa Lake Fuels Reduction project.