Union County approves updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan

UNION COUNTY – During a regular meeting yesterday, the Union County board of commissioners approved a revised version of the county’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). Established by the Federal Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003, CWPPs serve as local government’s primary method for assessing wildfire hazards and directing fire prevention and response resources toward protecting their respective communities. 

Though federally facilitated, the CWPPs are developed locally and do not require the spending of money or the creation of mandates for property owners. Instead, the CWPPs serve as a blueprint for local government and fire agencies to address their unique wildfire risks. As written in a staff report to the Union County Board of Commissioners (a copy of which was provided to Elkhorn Media Group):

“CWPPs serve several distinct and practical functions for Union County:

• Grant eligibility: Many, if not most, state and federal wildfire mitigation grant programs require an adopted and current CWPP as a condition of application.
• Interagency coordination: The plan establishes a shared framework for treatment priorities and mitigation planning across the county’s complex patchwork of federal, state, tribal, and private land ownerships.
• Risk-based prioritization: A CWPP provides a defensible, science-based basis for directing limited resources toward the highest-risk communities and landscapes.
• Planning authority: The CWPP complements the Union County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan. It is not a regulatory document and does not create mandates on the individual property owners or jurisdictions.”

Union county’s original CWPP was drafted in 2005 and updated again in 2017. The most recent update involved around 2-years of planning and coordination with the U.S. Forest Service, Oregon Department of Forestry, Firewise Communities, and local fire districts. Union County’s new CWPP was further developed to be in broad alignment with neighboring counties. 

The new CWPP was unanimously approved by county commissioners

---

---

• 
• 
• 
• 

---

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

---

Elkhorn Media Group