Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Great Ecology, in collaboration with Matrix New World Engineering, is preparing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for Santa Cruz County in Southern Arizona. Across the United States, CWPPs have become standard county-level planning documents that aim to reduce the risk of wildfire in communities by identifying site specific strategies for wildfire mitigation, preparedness & response.

In a changing climate, with a growing number of communities across the US located within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), planning for wildfire has become essential to prevent disaster & to be prepared in case it strikes. Santa Cruz County, on the US-Mexico border, is no exception. Comprised of Sonoran & Chihuahuan desert landscape types, the area was once considered fire-proof due to a lack of woody fuels for wildfire. However, landscape-wide native plant replacement by invasive and highly flammable annual grasses (i.e., grassification) and weeds in the last several decades, combined with wet winters and drier, hotter springs, summers, and falls, has led to larger and more dangerous fires in the southwest desert.

To address these challenges and the increasing threat of wildfire in the county, Great Ecology’s CWPP development process includes:

1. Comprehensive wildfire risk assessment via desktop analysis, fire modeling, & on-the-ground site visits.

2. Stakeholder & community engagement via meetings, outreach programs and public activities.

3. Actionable strategies including proposed fuel treatment projects, public education initiatives, emergency response tactics & long term maintenance plans.

4. Integration of research, community input, modeling, & mapping to create the clear, concise & comprehensive CWPP document.

This CWPP will provide Santa Cruz County with a practical roadmap to reduce wildfire risk, protect lives and property, and safeguard the region’s unique desert ecosystems.