Burdoin Fire - Recovery Assistance
Looking for information on recovery assistance after the Burdoin Fire? Check out our Burdoin Fire Post-Wildfire Help web page.
Questions? Contact Dan Richardson, dan@ucdwa.org.
“Ecological forest management is well suited to helping a broad array of people to achieve the goals that they have for their forestlands.”
-Jerry Franklin, Forest Ecologist
Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience
Photo by Lovina Englund
Forests are dynamic ecosystems that have evolved in response to natural disturbances. In the Columbia Gorge, our unique forest communities provide essential ecosystem services, including sustainable timber production, water filtration, and wildlife habitat. Wildfire plays a critical role in maintaining the health of these forests, having been present for thousands of years across the landscape —including both the eastern and western regions of the Cascade Mountains. However, the presence of our communities within these forested areas introduces inherent risks, and wildfires can lead to destructive outcomes for community members.
Adopting strategies that integrate wildfire into plans for your lands, however small, can reduce the risks from wildfire significantly. This can involve creating defensible spaces around homes, utilizing fire-resistant building materials for structures, and implementing fuels reduction to minimize risk of catastrophic fire. By adopting a holistic approach that respects both the natural processes of wildlife and the necessities of human habitation, we can coexist with the forests while minimizing risks associated with wildfire. Through education and community engagement, we can enhance our resilience to wildfire and foster a sustainable relationship with our forest ecosystems.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
To help our community members live harmoniously with the presence of wildfire, UCD provides free, no-obligation site visits to landowners in west Klickitat and Skamania Counties for assistance in the following areas:
Your forest.
The trees on your land, where they grow, and study your ecosystem community, and discuss what it means to steward your land.
Your goals.
We’ll consider how you can provide for your forest, and how your forest can best provide for you. What you hope to achieve in several years may look very different depending on what you hope to see in several decades. Whether it’s collecting firewood, improving wildlife habitat, replanting a previous harvest, enjoy a trail system around the property, Learn what kind of ecosystem services are available from your forest, and decide which ones to pursue.
Your plan.
Be specific. Draw maps. Set out specific activities for the next two, five, ten years to move closer to your goals.
Wildfire Ready Neighbors Home Visits
In partnership with the Washington Department of Natural Resources, we help individuals, neighbors, and communities study their home ignition zones and fuels mitigation needs:
Be aware.
Wildfire is both a natural, necessary process in healthy forests, as well as destructive to human homes in many cases. Wildfires ignite every year in the grasslands, croplands, pastures, forests, orchards, and vineyards that make up the greater Columbia Gorge. The best way to avoid catastrophic outcomes from wildfire is to be aware of the risks, rewards, and resources available for managing wildfire where homes meet the trees.
Be proactive.
Learn how to reduce wildfire hazards around your home, either from our team or on your own. Whether removing vegetation close to your home and structures, spacing your trees (especially pines and firs) adequately and pruning their lower branches, replacing flammable vegetation (such as arborvitae and juniper) with fire-resistant species, or keeping an easily-navigable entry and exit to your property; small actions can make a huge difference in the outcome of a wildfire event
One step at a time.
There are many ways for us to build individual and community resilience, so much so it can sometimes be overwhelming. Make a list of priority needs to reduce wildfire hazards to your home and work over time. If you need another set of eyes on your home to identify these steps, sign up for a free at the link above!
For Skamania County residents, visit our Skamania County Community Wildfire Planning page (CWPP), here.
Conservation Incentives
Mobile Chipping
Signups ARE currently closed. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified when the Mobile Chipping Service is open for registration!
UCD offers free mobile chipping services for residents and community groups to reduce fuels towards wildfire resilience and forest health. Please see our Terms and Conditions to see if you are eligible.
For the most successful chipping session, we ask residents to follow these guidelines when setting up their piles for chipping:
Pile(s) should be reachable by a road-legal vehicle pulling a chipper via trailer hitch:
Piles should not be placed just off a paved road, a highly-trafficked unpaved road, in any circumstance requiring the use of flaggers to ensure contractor safety, or beyond gates that are locked and inaccessible to chipping crews
Woody material included in your pile(s) should be suitable for chipping:
Material should be dry enough to snap rather than bend when applying pressure;
Wood should not be actively decomposing and can be moved from pile to chipper without disintegrating; and
Individual pieces of woody material are no more than 10 inches in diameter, are hand-piled as opposed to machine-piled, and stacked with cut ends facing the same direction
Pile(s) no more than 4 feet in length or height.
Please note that this service is intended to help small landowners reduce fine fuels around their home and/or forested property. UCD’s mobile chipper service is not intended to help landowners deal with pre-commercial or commercial logging slash.
State and Federal Resources
For larger acreage forestry projects (greater than 20 acres), you may be eligible for technical assistance and cost-share through Washington Department of Natural Resources Service Forestry, as well as the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) EQIP and CSP programs.
EDUCATION and Online resources
UCD strives to offer periodic workshops and field days for area landowners. Stay in the know about current offerings by signing up for our newsletter. You can read more about forest ecology or check out these additional online resources:
• DNR has a Small Forest Landowner Office with links to various resources. Subscribe to their monthly newsletter for a range of small-forest articles and tips. You can sign up on their website.
• Similarly, the WSU Extension has a small-forest website, with a large collection of very useful brochures, booklets and more.
• Oregon State University’s “Know Your Forest” website is a good overview with many helpful forestry-related tips.
• WSU forestry coached planning online courses may be the single most useful thing a small-forest landowner could do. This well-structured, online class involves a good deal of learning about your forest from the ground up. Over 8 weeks, you’ll receive information and guidance from experienced state foresters and biologists and create your own Forest Stewardship Plan. To get the most out of this course, plan to spend several hours a week outside of the 3-hr class time. View their website for more information.
Contact us at 509-774-7699 to learn more about any of these services.