2004 Oregon Fire Program Review: Final Report

Describes Oregon’s Protection from Fire Program, and compiles issues and recommendations from individual work group reports from the 2004 Oregon Fire Program Review. Report completed by the Institute for Natural Resources at Oregon State University, under contract with the Oregon Department of Forestry.Oregon’s Protection from Fire Program is the largest program within the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). The program provides wildfire protection on about 15.8 million acres of mostly privately-owned Oregon forestland. Private and state interests in protecting Oregon forests from fire have been intertwined since the early 1900s when ODF was created. The State Forester was charged with providing a complete and coordinated fire protection system. This was accomplished by working with the existing forest protection associations and, eventually, expanding their responsibilities.\ud Over time these associations, ODF and protection funding evolved into today’s fire protection system for Oregon’s non-federal forestland. The program also provides protection on some city, county, and state land and about 2.37 million acres of federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) forestland in Oregon. Areas protected include 3.5 million acres of wildland-urban interface. \ud The 2003 Oregon Legislature directed ODF to address specific funding issues and recommend emergency fire insurance funding and coverage strategies. State Forester Marvin Brown directed ODF to conduct a broader review of the program, including all major program components. The purpose of the review was to identify ways to maintain and improve the program to ensure continuation of effective and efficient fire protection for Oregon's forests and adjacent communities.\ud This document reports on the process and recommendations of the 2004 Oregon Fire Program Review. The report also includes\ud • An overview of how the Protection from Fire Program and its funding structure evolved\ud • A summary of how the Protection from Fire Program is funded and administered today\ud • Discussions of the principal issues that guided the Oregon Fire Program Revie