NEWS
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
B9
Emily Jane Davis/OSU Extension
A rangeland wildfi re burns in Wasco County.
Private landowners train to fi ght rangeland fi res
agencies, chiefl y the Bureau
of Land Management, man-
age about 70 percent of
rangelands in the western
United States, where they
are responsible for man-
agement as well as wildfi re
suppression. A leasehold
tenure system allows ranch-
ers to graze cattle on fed-
eral lands, so ranchers have
a signifi cant stake in their
management.
Rangeland Fire Protec-
tion Associations typically
operate in rural and remote
areas. By responding to fi res
when they are small, RFPAs
are intended to help prevent
large, destructive range-
land fi res that have become
increasingly common in the
Great Basin and surround-
ing regions.
The RFPA model is
unique in that it incorpo-
rates
non-professional,
non-governmental entities
in wildfi re response, Davis
said. RFPAs emerged due to
desires of many ranchers to
actively fi ght fi re and pro-
Proving an
eff ective
partnership
Chris Branam
Oregon State University
CORVALLIS, Ore. –
The fi rst responders to wild-
fi res in the remote areas of
the Great Basin of Oregon
and Idaho are increasingly
volunteer groups of private
landowners that have been
authorized and trained in
partnership with federal and
state agencies.
Rangeland Fire Protec-
tion Associations, which
started in the 1960s in east-
ern Oregon but have pro-
liferated in the region over
the last 20 years, are now
responsible for protecting
25.5 million acres of fed-
eral, state, and private land
in the Pacifi c Northwest.
Prior to the formation of
these groups, response to
wildfi re was often marked
by strife between ranchers
and government offi cials.
Historically, there were
arguments about the author-
ity of federal entities, lack
of local community engage-
ment, or disagreement about
fi re response strategies and
tactics. Now, a study led
by Oregon State Univer-
sity fi nds that these ten-
sions have lessened– rap-
idly in Idaho and gradually
in Oregon.
The study, published
in the journal Disasters,
comes at a time when wild-
fi res in the Great Basin have
become more destructive.
The Long Draw fi re of 2012
in southeastern Oregon
burned 557,648 acres before
it was contained.
These megafi res threaten
and destroy working range-
lands for cattle production,
habitat for species such as
the greater sage-grouse and
ungulates, and other val-
ues such as recreation and
the western culture of the
region.
“These relationships are
improving, and with time
tect their livestock and for-
age, as well as larger policy
and management objectives
including more effective
wildfi re suppression for pur-
poses including sage-grouse
habitat conservation.
As of 2019, Oregon had
24 RFPAs responsible for
protecting 16.5 million
acres of land. Idaho’s pro-
gram, established in 2013,
has nine RFPAs covering
nearly 9 million acres.In
Oregon, Idaho and Nevada,
state laws defi ne and autho-
rize RFPAs. Washington
state has been considering
a similar law. In January
2019, Davis presented the
highlights of a Northwest
Fire Science Consortium
report on RFPAs to the
Washington
legislature’s
House Rural Development,
Agriculture and Natural
Resources Committee.
Although RFPAs aren’t
yet in Washington, efforts
to fi nd solutions for protect-
ing unprotected and remote
rangelands continue and
studies such as this one may
help, Davis said.
The Joint Fire Science
Program funded the study.
BARGAINS OF THE MONTH ®
While supplies last.
Emily Jane Davis/OSU Extension
YOUR CHOICE
RFPA-trained volunteer property owners control a rangeland
fi re near Jordan Valley this fall.
they continue to improve,”
said study lead author Emily
Jane Davis, an assistant pro-
fessor and Extension spe-
cialist in OSU’s College of
Forestry. “Every fi re where
these folks work together,
the ranchers learn more
about fi re and how agen-
cies operate and the agen-
cies learn more about what
ranchers know about the
land, especially the terrain.
That’s largely positive.”
For their study, the
research team comprised
of Davis, Jesse Abrams,
an assistant professor at
the University of Georgia,
and Katherine Wollstein,
a Ph.D. student at the Uni-
versity of Idaho, conducted
a thorough examination and
analysis of RFPAs in the
Great Basin region of Ore-
gon and Idaho.
They compiled public
documents, conducted 59
interviews with key RFPA,
state and BLM leaders,
attended state-level RFPA
meetings in 2016 and 2017,
and developed case studies
of four RFPAs – two in Ore-
gon and two in Idaho.
Federal
government
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AARP Drivers Safety Class
Friday, November 15
at the Community Connection
Conference room from 9:00-4:00.
Cost is $15.00 for AARP members,
$20.00 for non-members. Lunch
available at Senior Meals at noon.
®
To sign up call Community Connection
WALLOWA COUNTY
541-426-3840
Come join us for a social hour hosted by the local Wallowa
County Chapter of Ducks Unlimited committee.
Looking to meet other conservation minded folks or just
learn a little more about Ducks Unlimited -
this is your chance.
We’ll pick up your first beverage and some snacks.
No raffles or auctions, just great conversation!
We hope you can join us!
You’re invited to a social hour at
Terminal Gravity
Brewery & Pub
Oct. 30th 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
More details & RSVP call Gene Bieraugel at
541-828-7795
