Consideration and Approval of Contract:  Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project (FWPP) Supplemental Project Agreement(SPA) 18-PA-11030408-017, with the U.S. Forest Service, Coconino National Forest..

SPA 18-PA-11030408-17 authorizes the City of Flagstaff to conduct hand-thinning operations (initial forest treatment) on up to 169 acres of federal land within the Dry Lake Hills Phase II area of the FWPP.

Total cost of the work, to be completed by either the City's Wildland Fire Crew or via Contractor, is not to exceed $135,200.  No payments will be made to the U.S. Forest Service: we will be conducting the work as an FWPP service.  In addition, the American Conservation Experience (ACE) has received a 50-50 match grant from the National Forest Foundation (NFF) for 100-acres of this work.  Therefore, the City would enter into a reimbursement agreement with ACE for those 100 acres where the City will simply match the grant they have received, allowing those acres to be completed at much lower cost than otherwise would occur. This SPA is budgeted as part of the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Program bond in account number 407-09-425-3277-0.

COUNCIL GOALS: Forest Treatments . . . 
Climate Change:  improve/maintain forest ecosystems and positions them to better withstand change-agents such as climate change.  The work on Observatory Mesa and elsewhere is science-based and a climate action-plan in operation.
Water Conservation: preserve water sources and prevent long-term damage to critical watersheds.
Environmental and Natural Resources:  protect and sustain our natural environment, reducing catastrophic fire and post-fire flooding events and insect infestations, preserving valuable wildlife habitat, allowing for recreational ventures and business operations,  and maintaining community well-being (to include public safety - first responders, residents, and visitors).
Community Outreach:  demonstrate need for, and solutions to, our forest health crisis, allowing us to showcase work, conduct field tours, and encourage residents to take action to protect their neighborhood, property, and home.  
Town and Gown:  permit us to attract students to a working outdoor laboratory to conduct studies, gather information, interact with the public, and support our efforts while furthering their education and experience.
Code Compliance:  address requirements of the City's Wildland Urban Interface Code (2008) and demonstrate their effectiveness.

REGIONAL PLAN:
Environmental Planning & Conservation – Vision for the Future:  In 2013, the long-term health and viability of our natural resource environment is maintained through strategic planning for resource conservation and protection.
Policy E&C.3.3 – Invest in forest health and watershed protection measures.
Policy E&C.6.1 – Encourage public awareness that the region’s ponderosa pine forest is a fire-dependent ecosystem and strive to restore more natural and sustainable forest composition, structure, and processes.
Policy E&C.6.3 – Promote protection, conservation, and ecological restoration of the region’s diverse ecosystem type and associated animals.
Policy E&C.6.6 – Support collaborative efforts for forest health initiatives or practices, such as the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI), to support healthy forests and protect our water system.
Policy E&C.10.2 – Protect, conserve, and when possible, enhance and restore wildlife habitat on public land.
 

Not on this specific SPA.  Council was, however, engaged in wildfire management and forest treatments issues and efforts since the late 1990's.   Specific to FWPP, Council has engaged at numerous times throughout it's nearly six year lifespan.  These have included approval of inclusion of the Bond in the Nov 2012 election, various Agreements, acceptance of grant funding, approval of contracts, public outreach events and field trips, and briefings.

Three exist:
 

1. Approve the SPA, permitting forest hand-thinning treatment work to proceed as planned within Phase II of the Dry Lake Hills area.
2. Pass on the SPA, and seek alternate FWPP funding to accomplish: by doing so, use of NFF companion funds provided to ACE for 100-acres of the Project is eliminated. 
3. Reject the SPA and the need to conduct these planned forest hand thinning treatments.  This leaves the site vulnerable to damage/loss and voter desire/direction as identified in the passage of the bond (74% approval) unfulfilled.

Damage and loss of our forests from destructive wildfire and insect infestations are ever-present threats to our community.  The Dry Lake Hills area is particularly vulnerable due to terrain, exposure, limited access, fuel loadings, and forest condition.  The community is especially vulnerable to catastrophic damage from the flood events that would follow a fire.  Proactive forest treatments (thinning/harvesting, debris disposal, and/or prescribed/managed fire) result in healthy and resilient forests, greatly reducing the threat of uncontrolled wildfire and the flood events that all too often follow.  Public safety is enhanced, infrastructure protection is ensured, and community well-being is safe-guarded.  Within our community and immediate area, the Woody Fire (2005), Hardy Fire (2010), and Slide Fire (2014) dramatically demonstrate the value of these treatments: the Schultz Fire (2010) shows what can happen when such treatments are not in-place. The proposed forest treatments on federal land within the Dry Lake Hills area was presented to the Community during the campaign leading-up to the bond election, and in the subsequent environmental planning and community outreach that occurred (and is still underway).  Regardless of cause, wildfires in the Dry Lake Hills area are a challenge: limited access, lack of on-site water supply, adjacent neighborhoods, and other factors all contribute to the difficulty of safely and effectively managing such an event.  Post fire flooding would be devastating, and require huge amounts of both capitol and time to address. 
 

Dry Lake Hills Phase II operations are complex and require a variety of treatment techniques: hand thinning selected areas is essential to meeting our overall goal for FWPP.  Completion of forest treatments operations have proven highly effective in reducing severity of wildfires and subsequent post-fire flooding events, as well as the outbreak and intensity of insect infestations.

Multiple partners have been engaged in the FWPP effort since its inception in 2012, and these partnership efforts continue today.  Working with Forest and City Staff,  AZ Game and Fish Dept, AZ State Forestry and Fire Management Dept, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and NAU's Ecological Restoration Institute have assisted the effort.  The Nature Conservancy, Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership, Campbell Global, Coconino County, and NAU's School of Forestry have all engaged and provided assistance.  Completion of this work will protect adjacent neighborhoods, recreational opportunities, and wildlife habitat, while promoting forest resiliency and sustainability.
 

Inform – Following the 50 campaign events leading up to the bond election (Nov 2012), we have continued to work at keeping the community informed of what we are doing, and why.  The Project website (www.flagstaffwatershedprotection.org) is one way: numerous news stories have also been crafted and/or otherwise reported.  Impromptu and announced field trips have been conducted, as well as various outreach events and meetings.  Forest and City staff have interacted with numerous individuals hiking, running, or biking through the area, as well as with other community members interested in the work.  Information kiosks  have been established at various trailheads and road junctures.   
 
Consult – We were part of the U.S. Forest Service Inter-Disciplinary Team engaged in the environmental planning effort.  The community was afforded numerous opportunities to provide input during that process, which included included interested citizens, adjacent neighborhoods, and members of the recreational community.   
 
Involve – A few individuals who have raised issues about the work have been directly engaged by either Forest or City staff, or other partners.  Members of ACE, a locally-based conservation organization, as well as NAU graduate students, various volunteers (groups and individuals), and members Fire Dept's seasonal  crew members and have been engaged in conducting some of the work itself. 
 
Empower – The planned forest treatments are part of a larger effort underway in our area and throughout northern AZ.  We and our many partners have been engaged for nearly two decades in this work, on various jurisdictions and site conditions, and have utilized a variety of prescriptions and approaches to ensure we have a full-suite of treatments across the greater landscape.  The work permitted by this SPA is based upon credible and proven science-based forest restoration and hazard fuel management standards and knowledge.  It adheres to guidelines established in the Greater Flagstaff Area Community Wildfire Protection Plan (City & County - 2005, revised in 2012), is consistent with forest treatments designed and implemented by the Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership (1999-present) and the City of Flagstaff Wildland Fire Management program (1998-present), meets the goals of the State of AZ 20-Year Strategy (2007), is consistent with the Four Forests Restoration Initiative's efforts, and adheres to the FWPP Final Record of Decision (USFS - 2015).