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Thursday, August 10, 2006

East Mountains Fire Plan Is Nearly Done

By Matt Gomez
Mountain View Telegraph
    The months-long creation of an East Mountains Community Wildfire Protection Plan is drawing to a close.
    The final public input meeting for the plan was held Aug. 2 at Los Vecinos Community Center in Tijeras.
    At that meeting, the deadline for public comments on the draft plan was extended an additional 10 days. Handwritten or e-mailed comments will now be accepted through Sunday, said Krista Bonfantine of SWCA Environmental Consultants, a firm hired to facilitate the public meetings and put the CWPP together.
    About 75 people attended the first CWPP public meeting in February, Bonfantine said.
    The series of public meetings provided a wealth of suggestions about what the plan should include, she said, but attendance numbers have dwindled.
    Roughly 20 area residents were present at last week's meeting, with only a few leaving comments and suggested revisions.
    The CWPP is a long-term plan that sets priorities for wildfire fuel reductions in the East Mountains, Bonfantine said.
    The CWPP drafting process was initiated in April 2003 by the Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District, according to the draft. The East Mountain Interagency Fire Protection Association soon joined forces with SWCD to develop the wildfire plan.
    The current 98-page draft plan outlines existing and previous fire conditions, area climate and vegetation, and completed and proposed wildfire fuel reductions, among other things. Also included is a homeowner's guide that provides a wide range of information on what to do in the event of a wildfire, how to prepare and what to do afterward.
    A core team of about 15 private and agency representatives was brought together for the first time on June 5, 2005, to begin work on the plan.
    Carl White, a former core team member, said one of the most interesting features of the CWPP is the way community input helped shape the plan.
    "It's amazing how many educated people live in this area and what they can provide if given the initiative by agencies," White said.
    Susan Rich, a manager for the Ciudad SWCD, said the plan will help facilitate access to continued grant money for forest-thinning projects.
    Residents interested in commenting on the plan can e-mail their thoughts to emcwpp@comcast.net or review the plan at the East Mountain Library in Tijeras and leave handwritten comments.
    The document is also available online at www.ciudadswcd.org.