DO YOU WANT TO REDUCE YOUR WILDFIRE RISK AND IMPROVE FOREST HEALTH?
Then let’s remove some vegetation! With cost share rates starting at 50% and up to 85% – the more acreage, the more neighbors participating, the higher the cost share rate – and a forester rebate of up to $900 for each property owner who qualifies to selectively thin their forest – the 123 Project is the way to go to get work done on your land.
The Eagle Creek and Little Chumstick area has been identified as ‘high risk’ for wildfire in the Leavenworth Community Wildfire Protection Plan endorsed by Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition, Chelan County Fire District 3, Chelan County, and the Washington Department of Natural Resources.
The 123 Project Cost Share Rate will be dependent on you! The more acres involved, the more neighbors, the more you save! Here are links to the National Fire Protection Association Firewise Program and the Washington Department of Natural Resources Forest Stewardship Plans.
DO YOU OWN OR MANAGE ONE OF THE PROPERTIES HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN ON THE MAPS BELOW? THEN YOU QUALIFY FOR THIS PROGRAM! CONTACT US FOR MORE DETAILS AND A PROPERTY ASSESSMENT AT [email protected]
Properties in the Upper Chumstick area identified as eligible for cost share assistance in the 123 Project.
Properties in the Eagle Creek area identified as eligible for cost share assistance in the 123 Project.
HOW ARE PARTICIPANTS CHOSEN, AND WHAT ARE THE DETAILS?
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Participants are chosen on a first-come, first-serve basis, and resources are limited.
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The property to be treated within the Chumstick drainage.
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This is a Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grant, so the property must not have utilized their cost-share program in the last 15 years. Also, the owner must commit to upkeep the treated area for the next 15 years, per DNR cost share guidelines.
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This is a reimbursement program. Participants must be able to engage a contractor, get the work done, then be reimbursed by the Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition. Reimbursement will be approved with a invoice from the contractor (submitted to the Coalition) and a site visit by Coalition staff approving the work.
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This is a limited time program! Contractor work must be completed by December 31, 2022, and all paperwork and site visits/contractor selection must be finished and turned in to the Coalition at [email protected] no later than November 31, 2021
WHAT TYPE OF TREATMENTS DOES THIS PROJECT SUPPORT?
LAND THAT WOULD BENEFIT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCE’S (DNR) LANDOWNER ASSISTANCE COST-SHARE PROGRAM.
- This type of treatment would pull from DNR’s funding (up to 50% cost share) and expertise to complete on the ground treatments. Through small tree thinning and brush removal using either chainsaws or tracked “mastication” equipment, these treatments reduce overall fuel loading and fire risk as well as improve forest health. If participants in this group collaborate with other landowners according to the Point Rating System described here, then they are eligible to advance to Treatment Group 2. This enables those landowners to earn up to 85% cost share in our program.
LANDS NEEDING OVERSTORY THINNING, A NORTHERN SPOTTED OWL HABITAT SURVEY, OR OTHERWISE IS OUTSIDE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES CURRENT COST SHARE GUIDELINES.
- Based on our assessment of your forest’s condition, and after consulting with DNR’s Forest Practices staff, there may be times when the Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition will recommend that a landowner work directly with a professional consulting forester.
- In some instances Chumstick’s recommendation may be that your forest needs some element of overstory tree removal, or commercial thinning. The Chumstick Coalition will gather these ownerships into a consolidated group and seek to connect those who would benefit most from commercial thinning to consulting foresters. A consulting forester would help each landowner complete a Forest Practices Application (up to $900 reimbursed), as well as guide the landowner through all the decisions along the way to get your logs to market. The forester selected by the landowner will work to create Forest Practices Applications (up to $900 reimbursed) and produce timber sales.
- At other times there may be resource concerns associated with your site, such as Northern Spotted Owl Habitat. The Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition will guide landowners through what is needed for a Northern Spotted Owl Habitat Survey, and determine if the project needs to have a Forest Practices Application, with the possibility of utilizing . Don’t worry if it looks complicated; the consulting forester will do the work for you, and you will be reimbursed up to $900! Landowners in this Treatment Group are eligible for 50% to 85% cost share. Contact us for more information.