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Title: Evaluating the Integration of CWPP and County Governance Wildfire Risk Reduction Best Practices across the American West: A Plan Quality Review

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2019

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Abstract: In 2003, President George W. Bush enacted the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (P.L. 108-148) (HFRA), expediting the preparation and implementation of hazardous fuels reduction efforts, if communities created community wildfire protection plans (CWPPs). CWPPs contextually define the wildland-urban interface (WUI) and evaluate risk. Additionally, CWPPs identify and prioritize both public and private land mitigation projects. However, CWPPs are only one strategy in reducing wildfire risk. Research also suggests codifying wildfire risk reduction efforts into land use regulations, such as comprehensive planning, building and zoning codes, and subdivision guidelines. This study uses document analysis and cumulative odds ordinal logistic regressions to answer the following questions: 1) how well are CWPP wildfire planning best practices integrated, 2) how well are wildfire risk reduction best practices incorporated into land use regulations, and 3) what social, economic, demographic and geographic factors predict the level of best practice integration of CWPP inputs and outputs? While the regression results proved to statistically insignificant, the study found several interesting trends. First, the WUI is still growing geographically. Second, the WUI is also increasing in population. Third, there is a small positive correlation between the increase in WUI seasonal home growth and increased composite scores (CWPP wildfire planning score + local governance wildfire land use regulations), suggesting it may be a leverage point for increased wildfire risk reduction planning. Fourth, there is a small negative correlation between longer homeowner tenure and the composite score, suggesting that wildfire risk reduction perceptions among long-time residents are complex. The results suggest that counties are not fully integrating CWPP or land use best practices. Both CWPPs and land use regulations can both improve by expanding their frames of reference from single development protectionism frames to include ecosystem health and incorporating more than one frame at a time. Additionally, counties must ensure frequent and timely update cycles, to better include emerging best practices and provide a sense of urgency to the process. Expanding frames requires a broader collective of participation. Noticeably absent from both the CWPP and comprehensive planning process were licensed land use professionals (e.g., architects, landscape architects, planners, surveyors, and civil engineers) who perform development work within each county. Counties should engage with licensing bodies to ensure professionals are adequately prepared to address health, safety, and welfare best practices to mitigate wildfire. As such professional licensure for health, safety, and welfare could be an expanded wildfire frame. When incorporating expanded frames, goals and objectives should be edited to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timed (SMART). Finally, this study suggests the integration of the CDC's social vulnerability index (SVI) into risk mapping efforts and an expanded anticipatory development risk evaluation process. The form and content of this abstract are approved. I recommend its publication

Url: https://search.proquest.com/docview/2307477571?pq-origsite=gscholar

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Authors: Flohr, Travis, L

Institution: University of Colorado at Denver

Department: Design and Planning Program

Advisor: Austin Troy

Degree: Ph.D.

Publisher Location: Colorado

Pages: 330

Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Natural Resource Management

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