An independent analysis by Headwaters Economics shows that the first round of funding from the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program prioritized high-risk, low-income communities.
Posts by Kelly
Wildfire safety standards for Montana
Statewide wildfire safety standards are proven and cost effective. Montana can adopt standards to help make communities safer from increasing wildfire risks.
The unequal impacts of wildfire
See where wildfire risk intersects social and economic factors that can make it difficult for people to prepare for, respond to, and recover from wildfire.
Land Use Planning More Effective Than Logging to Reduce Wildfire Risk
Updated: For communities land use planning is more effective than logging on federal lands to reduce future wildfire disasters.
Trails Toolkit: Helping Communities Invest Wisely
Communities and local leaders can utilize this trails toolkit to better understand whether and how trails can accomplish local goals, along with the cost and benefits of proposed projects.
Building a Wildfire-Resistant Home: Codes and Costs
A new home built to wildfire-resistant codes can be constructed for roughly the same cost as a typical home.
San Luis Valley Wildfire Risk
Explore interactive maps of watersheds, wildfire, and the wildland-urban interface in Colorado’s San Luis Valley.
Wildfire, Watersheds, and the Wildland-Urban Interface in the San Luis Valley
Partners in Colorado’s San Luis Valley are working to better understand the impacts of wildfire to communities, watersheds, and quality of life.
Austin Wildfire and Vulnerable Populations Tool
Identify neighborhoods where overlapping wildfire threats and socioeconomic vulnerabilities may make people disproportionately susceptible to wildfire.
Best Practices for Watersheds and Recreation
Best practices for balancing the needs for clean drinking water, recreation, and economic development in municipal watersheds.
New Montana Homes Increase Wildfire Risks
The number of western Montana homes in areas with high wildfire hazard has doubled, outpacing development rates in areas with low wildfire hazard.
Communities Reduce Wildfire Risk Through Land Use Planning
Updated: The Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire program now helps 30 communities reduce wildfire risk through improved land use planning.
Planning Tools to Reduce Montana’s Wildfire Risk
County governments, fire districts and service areas, and landowners have many opportunities to reduce wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface through land use planning tools and strategies, though challenges in Montana’s regulatory framework remain.
The Growth of Hispanic Populations Across the West
Hispanics account for roughly one in four westerners and one in six rural westerners.
Fire & Flood: Lessons from Hurricane Harvey for Wildfire
A lack of land use planning amplified the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Wildfire-prone communities should take note.
Best Practices for States to Fund Outdoor Recreation
Seven case studies illustrate best practices and lessons learned to develop programs for outdoor state recreation funding.
Resilient Taos County: Living with Wildfire
This story map provides Taos County residents with information about the ecological role of fire, the region’s wildfire risk, forest restoration projects, and emergency preparedness.
Minority Populations Driving County Growth in the Rural West
Minority populations are growing in nearly all rural western counties, helping booming communities expand and slowing the decline in counties that otherwise would have lost people.
Understanding the Recreation Economy on Nearby Public Lands
How can communities measure and take advantage of the economic impacts of nearby outdoor recreation activities on public lands?
CPAW Communities
The Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire program works with many communities across the U.S.