Key Factors that Influence the Collaborative Process

Photo by Barb Tuttle, Carol DeSain, & Betsy Bowen Photo by Rachel Brummel Photo by Stephanie Grayzeck

Community Wildfire Protection Plans:The Great Lakes States Experience

March 18, 2008Rhinelander, Wisconsin

Collaboration …

• voluntary

• involves face-to face interaction and

interdependence

• seeks to achieve goals that could not be

achieved independently

“…process by which diverse stakeholders work together to

resolve a conflict or develop and advance a shared vision.”

Collaboration Collective action

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs

Collaboration

• participants

• process

• priority projects

• Scale

• Framing

• Networks

• Leadership

Scale

A CWPP must be “agreed to by the applicablelocal government, local fire department, and StateAgency responsible for forest management…”

As a result…

... applicable local government has been widely interpreted in terms of planning scale of CWPPs, and ultimately impacts the collaborative process.

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs—Scale

Goal = strategic, landscape-level planning

• Broader scale planning (multi-county,

county, or multi-township)

• Agency involvement critical

Lake County, Minnesota

• 1.34 million acres• Agency led• Fuels reduction

projects• Improved agency

capacity and relationships

• Less homeowner involvement

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs—Scale

Goal = strategic umbrella plan with additional

documents that reach smaller scales

• Umbrella CWPP with community level

CWPPs embedded

• Agency and homeowner involvement

Umbrella CWPPs

• Grizzly Flats, California– Trinity County CWPP

and Firesafe Council

• East Portal, Colorado– Larimer County CWPP

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs—Scale

Goal = property owner-level planning

• Smaller scale planning (neighborhood,

homeowners association, community)

• Homeowner involvement critical.

High Knob, Virginia

• Community fuels reduction day

• Firewise Communities/USA certified

• All private or HOA land• Strong homeowner

involvement

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs—Scale

There is no best scale…select the scale where you can make something happen!

Consider the tension between:

Large-scale, long term landscape level management

Small-scale, immediate property owner impact

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs

Collaboration

• participants

• process

• priority projects

• Scale

• Framing

• Networks

• Leadership

• How do people understand the wildfire problem?

• Determines who is invited to participate

• Evaluate boundaries of the framing

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs—Framing

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs—

Framing

Watershed ProtectionFuels

Reduction

Restoration

Safety

Taylor, Florida

• Public safety was the main concern

• Sheriff, DOF, County fire department

• 30 ft fire break around the community aided suppression efforts during 2007 fire Safety

Harris Park and East Portal, Colorado

• CWPP strategies focused on mitigating wildfire risk to restore historic forest conditions of Ponderosa Pine

• Forest restoration became an important community value Restoration

• Two communities, each with a unique framing of the situation

• Barnes – access and improved safety

• Drummond – downed fuel and agency action

• One CWPP that addresses both

Barnes and Drummond, Wisconsin

Safety

Fuels Reduction

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs – Networks

Collaboration

• participants

• process

• priority projects

• Scale

• Framing

• Networks

• Leadership

• Start where you have good relationships and pre-existing networks

• Trust across networks leads to increased openness to share information and willingness to consider future collaboration

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs – Networks

• The networks you pull in to the CWPP process influence who is involved and the resources available

• Not all networks need to be involved to the same degree. Some can be kept in the CWPP process through information links alone.

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs – Networks

• Individuals who represent two networks might be an efficient way to strengthen how different networks can support the CWPP – VFD/DNR representatives in Lake County,

Minnesota– County administrator/homeowner in High Knob,

Virginia

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs – Networks

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs – Leadership

Collaboration

• participants

• process

• priority projects

• Scale

• Framing

• Networks

• Leadership

• Local leadership• Intermediary roles

– 3rd party– Key participants

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs – Leadership

• Lend legitimacy• Provide heart, goals and links to others• Local knowledge and political influence• “Spark plugs” or “cheerleaders”• Examples:

– Lake County, Minnesota– Barnes and Drummond, Wisconsin– High Knob, Virginia

Local Leadership

What is an intermediary?• Individual or organization that brings networks

and resources, and bridges gaps• Often times, an intermediary shares their

knowledge and experience with mutiple CWPPs

Who is an intermediary?• Non-governmental organization, consultant• Key participants can play critical leadership

and intermediary roles and functions at different stops

Intermediary roles

Barnes and Drummond, WI• NWRPC facilitated and

coordinated the CWPP• Brought in outside and

technical resources to the communities

3rd party intermediary or consultant

Lake County, Minnesota• Different participants played leadership

roles at different times• Local fire departments – local

knowledge• USFS fire modelers –fire modeling

Larimer County, Colorado

Multiple partners filling intermediary roles

Elements Influencing Collaboration for CWPPs

Collaboration

• participants

• process

• priority projects

• Scale

• Framing

• Networks

• Leadership

Questions

• Which of these factors would be most influential in your situation?

• Can you give a specific example of one of these factors in your community, and how it will influence collaboration?

• Are there additional factors that are going to be influential for your CWPP/community?