Counties have been giving an unprecedented opportunity to participate in community based forest planning and vegetation treatment project prioritization with the enactment of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003.

This landmark legislation includes the first meaningful statutory incentives for the US Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to give consideration to the priorities of local communities as they develop and implement forest management and hazardous fuels reduction projects.

In order for a community to take full advantage of this opportunity, it must first prepare a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). While there are several possible approaches in developing a CWPP, this web-based project conforms to both the intent and the letter of HFRA as well as making the process user friendly and consistent for at- risk communities of catastrophic wildfire across the federal landscape.

The following are the Key Web Elements of a CWPP:

• Main website with an area for every county
• Secure BBS for CWPP Committee
• Database for every Community At Risk
• Press release tool to contact local media
• Open BBS for key stakeholders and public input
• Data summary in charts graphs and maps
• Data summary in report form
• Website created for every county CWPP

This web-based approach to CWPP planning allows the county to monitor and assess their plan to ensure that the document maintains its relevance and effectiveness over the long term.