Planning
A Community Wildfire Protection Plan identifies and prioritizes areas for hazardous fuel reduction treatments and recommends the types and methods of treatment on Federal and non-Federal land that will protect one or more at-risk communities and essential infrastructure and recommends measures to reduce structural ignitability throughout the at-risk community or development. The Tri-county Regional Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) serving Broadwater, Jefferson and Lewis & Clark counties of Montana was updated in 2020. This local area plan addresses issues such as wildfire response, hazard mitigation and community preparedness.
TCFSWG has spearheaded the CWPP collaborative planning process since 1984. The enactment of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA) in 2003, incentivized communities to engage in comprehensive forest planning and project prioritization with the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The legislation also provided communities with an opportunity to influence where and how federal agencies implement fuel reductio project on federal lands, as well as an opportunity to influence the distribution of additional federal funds. The CWPP allows private landowners to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by HFRA.