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Chief outlines special project agreements to fund thinning and egress projects through WFPP funds
Summary
Chief Matt described 'special project agreements' that allow the county to apply for Forest Service funds via NDF to pay for fuels-thinning and secondary egress work in Spring Creek, Mountain City and Lemoille; a board member questioned current WFPP costs.
Chief Matt told the board the department is using a special project agreement (SPA) process to access funds for fuels-reduction and access projects. He described the SPA as a streamlined application — “we submit basically a 1 page application to them” — that would let the county apply Forest Service money passed through NDF to local thinning projects intended to protect the wildland–urban interface.
Matt listed target communities for proposed work, including Spring Creek, Mountain City and Lemoille, and said the projects could also address secondary egress and access. A committee member asked about the cost and administration of the Wildland Fire Protection Program (WFPP), saying the program or contractor currently “charges us, what $800,000 a year for the wildfire protection plan?” Matt replied that the funds discussed come from the Forest Service and are accessed through the county’s agreement with the WFPP; he said the department has proposed changes to direct more of the funds toward local fuels reduction rather than solely suppression costs. The question about the WFPP charge was not resolved at this meeting.
