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☼ FY 2009 ANNUAL PLAN OF WORK ☼
☼PROTECTING WOODLAND HOMES FROM WILDFIRE This project will increase the visibility of the Firewise Program in Virginia as a means of reducing the risk of wildfire in the wildland urban interface. The RC&D Council will complete fuel reduction activities on 115 acres located within 3 miles of U.S. Forest Service property reducing the wildfire risk to at least 80 woodland homes. Virginia’s citizens, landowners, planners and community leaders will become more aware of the need to plan and implement wildfire hazard mitigation activities. These individuals would have the knowledge to make wise decisions to protect their own homes and communities. Wildfire and property damage risks will be significantly reduced and as a result, communities will be made safer through these cooperative efforts. Partners: Virginia Department of Forestry; U.S. Forest Service; Local Fire Departments Goal II: Increase the economic return, management and sustainability of the area’s forest resources. Objective II-F: Promote firewise communities. Strategy F1: Encourage local planners, developers and elected officials to provide safer woodland subdivisions through better planning and implementation of firewise landscaping practices. Strategy F2: Coordinate firewise training and demonstrations with the Virginia Department of Forestry, U.S. Forest Service and local fire departments. Strategy F3: Improve awareness of firewise homes and development planning and to reduce fuel in woodlots along the Wildland Urban Interface. Strategy F4: Assist communities in developing wildland fire hazard mitigation plans. ___________________________________________________________________________________ ACTION COST COUNCIL STAFF PLANNED ESTIMATE: REPRESENTATIVE: REPRESENTATIVE 2009: 2010: & TIME ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Implement | Complete | $100,000 | Chris King | Gary Boring 18 hours David Richert 80 hours
☼VALUE ADDED FOREST PRODUCERS This project will assist the Blue Ridge Forest Cooperative with a Working Capital Grant to expand the market for certified sustainable forest products, especially in Virginia and the mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the U.S., by raising the awareness, appreciation and implementation of forest stewardship practices among current and future producers and consumers. The Blue Ridge Forest Cooperative is a forest landowner Cooperative incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia, formed for the purpose of organizing and educating interested forest landowners. The RC&D Council will assist the Blue Ridge Cooperative with the installation of various demonstrations and outreach events that highlight sustainable forestry in the RC&D Council Area. Partners: Natural Resources Conservation Service; Virginia Department of Forestry; Virginia Tech-Department of Forestry; Blue Ridge Forest Cooperative Goal II: Increase the economic return, management and sustainability of the area’s forest resources. Objective II-A: Increase economic returns from the area’s forests by providing information and education for the improvement of forest management and protection of land and timber resources. Strategy A1: Provide information to landowners, agencies, and elected officials concerning the impacts of the forest industry on the local economy. Objective II-E: Promote the value of urban and community forests. Strategy E-1: Better educate communities, municipal employees and the general public in Southwest Virginia on the benefits and values of the urban forest and help provide them with the tools to properly care for them. ___________________________________________________________________________________ ACTION COST COUNCIL STAFF PLANNED ESTIMATE: REPRESENTATIVE: REPRESENTATIVE 2009: 2010: & TIME ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Complete | | $50,000 | Louis Brossy | Gary Boring 12 hours David Richert 80 hours |