FY 2001 Programs in Montana Updated 08/08/01 Overview: The National Fire Plan includes five key program areas. Estimated allocations to Montana include: Firefighting Preparedness Firefighting Facilities Rehab & Restoration Hazardous Fuels Treatment Forest Health Projects $35,788,000 $8,645,000 $62,119,000 $8,008,000 $1,566,000 State Fire Assistance Volunteer Fire Assistance Economic Action Programs Community and Private Assistance TOTAL $844,000 $239,000 $478,000 $6,914,000 * $125,751,000 * Includes $1,150,000 in Research and Development in Montana in support of the National Fire Plan. Firefighting Resources: Staffing the most efficient level (MEL) of resources to provide prompt initial attack on wildfires. Preparedness Organization: $35,788,200 to build the most efficient level of fire preparedness organization. 730 positions (permanent and temporary) planned for hire in FY 2001 to meet 100 percent of MEL. 261 permanent employees have been hired as of 07/10/01. 627 temporary employees have been hired as of 7/10/01. An additional interagency hotshot crew was established on the Lewis & Clark National Forest in Great Falls. Equipment available for firefighting this year:  82 engines, 7 helicopters, 33 lookouts Fire Facilities: $3.2 million invested in new airtanker base in Helena. Facilities shared with Montana National Guard. Replacement of the lookout tower on Sula Peak in the Bitterroot Valley. $3,450,000 task order with Corps of Engineers for helibase in Lincoln and Gallatin counties. $1,566,000 task order with Corps of Engineers for fire warehouses in Ravalli, Lewis & Clark, Rosebud, and Beaverhead counties. $1,044,000 task order with Corps of Engineers for tanker base in Missoula County. $990,000 task order with Corps of Engineers for 20 fire warehouses in multiple counties in Montana, Idaho, and North Dakota. Rehabilitation and Restoration: Assuring long-term efforts to improve lands unlikely to recover naturally from fire damage. 477,500 acres of National Forest System lands burned in the 2000 fire season. 121 rehabilitation and restoration projects are funded this year in Montana. $54,119,000 of the $141,688,000 national total was allocated to projects in Montana, with an additional $16 million available for combined projects in the Northern and Intermountain Regions. Two vehicle rental contracts in support of the restoration team on the Helena National Forest. The Lolo National Forest entered into an agreement with the Bitterroot RC&D Area, Bitterroot Job Service, and AFL-CIO Project Challenge to host a national emergency grant program to provide work projects to the partners to employ workers directly affected by the 2000 wildfires. Eight contracts totaling $570,226 awarded in Ravalli County for water quality study, planting, GPS, A&E, building construction, and noxious weed projects. Hazardous Fuels Reduction: Targeting fuel management and reduction on high-priority areas, especially wildland/urban interface areas. Through 07/27/01 more than 80,000 acres of hazardous fuel planning and treatment operations, and more than 14,200 acres of treatment accomplishments, entered in the national database. Contract totaling $41,320 for fuels reduction thinning awarded in Lincoln County. Contract of $41,000 awarded in Lewis and Clark County. Four contracts awarded in Broadwater County totaling $234,528. Two contracts awarded in Missoula County for archaeological study and A&E totaling $119,000. Pinkham Fire restoration project in Eureka, a fuels reduction project in a drainage with more than 45 homes and ranches; includes burning, thinning, and intermediate harvest. Sheldon Flats project in Libby is a thinning and prescribed burning project for ecological restoration and reducing hazardous fuels in the wildland/urban interface. Elk Creek interface project near Heron, a small-acreage fuels reduction project that is community-driven with local residents identifying and prioritizing treatment areas. Community Assistance: Increasing community capacity to reduce wildfire risk and expand local economic opportunities on private, state, and tribal lands through federal and non-federal cost-shares. The community assistance programs in the National Fire Plan include: State Fire Assistance:  $844,000 granted to improve the readiness level of state and local firefighting organizations by providing technical training, funding, and equipment. This also includes FIREWISE workshops. Of the total funding, $587,000 is dedicated to fuels reduction projects and development of defensible space in high-risk areas in and around communities that are evaluated and prioritized with the State of Montana. Volunteer Fire Assistance:  $239,000 granted to the State of Montana to prepare rural (local and volunteer) fire departments in communities with populations under 10,000. These funds will improve readiness and response to wildfires, especially in the wildland/urban interface. Funding and technical assistance are provided directly to the fire departments for training and equipment to improve protection capabilities across all land ownerships. Forest Health Management:  $1,566,000 supports Forest Service field offices and the State Forester to detect, monitor, evaluate, prevent, and suppress invasive species on federal and non-federal forestlands among all federal agencies, states, and tribes affected by fire. State forestry agencies receive funding to assist private landowners, and grants are made to local weed districts and cooperatives through the State Department of Agriculture. A grant for $2.1 million was awarded on May 15 to the Montana Department of Agriculture. Economic Action Programs:  $478,000 supports technical assistance and grants to state, federal, county, local, and tribal governments (and not-for-profit organizations) to help communities develop opportunities and enterprises that will diversify uses of forest resources and hazardous fuels byproducts and increase state utilization and marketing capabilities. Community and Private Land Fire Assistance: Fence and infrastructure reconstruction – funding for fence projects of approximately $2.9 million, with 148 payments totaling $1,965,000 processed to date. The first check was issued the week of April 12 to a rancher in the Bitterroot Valley. The Helena National Forest is approximately 75 percent completed with reimbursement to landowners and the Bitterroot National Forest is 100 completed. Statewide, Montana is about 70 percent completed with first-priority fence projects. Hazardous fuels cost-share incentives – $721,000 in grants to the State Forester to reduce and remove hazardous fuels in areas affected by fire. Regions will work with the states to identify needs and priorities on state, private, and tribal lands. Multi-resource stewardship – $1,617,000 in grants to the State Forester to assist landowners in preparing or revising multi-resource management plans on state, private, and tribal lands. This funding supports restoration projects such as tree planting, revegetation, soil stabilization, and watershed restoration work. The funding is targeted at fire-affected communities and local workers and businesses, and also supports noxious weed treatments. Economic action pilot projects – $1,117,000 in grants to state, federal, county, local, and tribal governments (and not-for-profit organizations) to assist communities to expand and develop markets for wood products resulting from hazardous fuels removal and underutilized small-diameter material. Demonstration projects showing end use such as timber bridges, round timber construction, and biomass-to-energy projects will be emphasized. Community Fire Planning – $558,000 in grants awarded directly to communities and other partners to develop and revise community strategic, action, and fire risk management plans targeting those most affected by fires. Funds increase community resiliency and capacity and encourage strategic growth. Local Forest Service offices are helping to identify communities. For more information on these and other program activities, see our CONTACTS page.

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