Lawrence County Community Wildfire Protection Plan - Black Hills ...

from all hazards is an important concernfor all the stakeholders in Lawrence County.The Healthy Forest Restoration ActThe Community Wildfire ProtectionPlan, (CWPP), concept is outlined in theHealthy Forest Restoration Act, (HFRA), of2003. This Act provides the basis toencourage and allow comprehensivecommunity-based forest planning and theprioritization of fuel reduction and othervegetative management projects. Thislegislation includes statutory incentives forthe USDA Forest Service and the USDIBureau of Land Management to giveconsideration to these priorities andplanning suggestions set out in individualCommunity Wildfire Protection Plans.The HFRA, builds on the NationalFire Plan and the Ten Year ComprehensiveStrategy for Reducing Wildland Fires Risksto Communities and the Environment inestablishing an expectation that federal landmanagement agencies will work withcommunities and local governments toreduce fire and forest health risks within andaround WUIs and communities at risk . TheHFRA specifically encourages efforts torestore healthy forest conditions byauthorizing expedited environmentalassessments, administrative appeals, andjudicial review for hazardous fuels projectson federal land, and gives preference inthe use of these authorities to agencies whopartner with communities in a collaborativefashion.The HFRA specifically requires thatthe federal government work collaborativelywith local communities that have prepareda CWPP. This is particularly important inLawrence County since the federalgovernment owns over 50% of the County.With such a large area controlled by thefederal government, collaborativelandscape vegetative planning is absolutelynecessary to effectively protect the WUIsand communities at risk within LawrenceCounty.A CWPP may provide communitieswith a tremendous level of influence overwhere and how federal agenciesimplement fuel reduction projects onfederal lands and how additional federalfunds may be distributed for projects onnon-federal lands. Federal agencyleadership has also clearly indicated thatfiscal resources appropriated for thepreparation and implementation of HFRAprojects will be preferentially distributed toareas where CWPPs have beencompleted.The National Environmental PolicyAct, (NEPA), also supports thiscollaborative planning by allowing localgovernments where they provide specialexpertise to cooperate with the federalgovernment on NEPA projects. In manyareas Lawrence County has this specialand unique expertise that would provide thefederal government with valuable input inplanning and prioritizing vegetativetreatments. Where desired by the Countythe USDA Forest Service and/or USDIBureau of Land Management should givethe county, cooperating agency status onvegetative projects that are planned to beimplemented in the County.Fire HistoryThere have been many fires that haveoccured in Lawrence County. All of thesefires range from .01 acres to 11,000 acres.Many of the fire records for the past 100years are not accurate or the data isincomplete. Many large fires have names,acres burned and possibly an ignition pointLawrence County Community Wildfire Protection Plan 5