Beaverhead County adopts Community Wildfire Protection Plan after public presentation

Beaverhead County commissioners voted to adopt the county’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) after a public presentation and a period for questions and comments.

Casey, the presenter, summarized the plan as “addressing the future of fire management” and said it ties together local government, fire jurisdictions and state and federal partners through mutual-aid agreements. The presenter told the board the document is meant to guide wildfire planning, subdivision standards and larger-scale fuel treatments and that it will be used to support grant applications for hazard mitigation.

During the public Q&A, speakers and staff described past fuel-reduction work on Old Canyon Road and in the Wise River area and noted constraints when mitigation must cross onto federal lands, where different criteria and access rules apply. Casey said the CWPP is updated every five years and that adopting the plan helps the county make the case for grant funding and for infrastructure projects such as strategic water storage or dry wells to support fire response.

Commissioners moved to adopt the CWPP; after the motion and second the board voted in favor and the motion passed. Staff said a few mapping edits remain, the document (about 102 pages with large map files) will be posted on the county website, and signature pages will be circulated for the chair and other commissioners and participating agencies.

The adoption formalizes the county’s wildfire planning priorities and makes the CWPP a reference document for local mitigation efforts, grant applications and coordination with agencies including the Forest Service and the state’s DNRC.