NOW WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
The statistics are alarming: our risk factor for wildfire in Josephine County is virtually the highest in the nation. But we didn’t need the New York Times, the TV networks, or number-crunchers 3000 miles away to tell us that. Those of us who actually live here have been evacuated from our homes before. Now, every summer we breath in unhealthy smoke-filled air as our forests burn with increased intensity.
The only thing new about wildfire in the Northwest is the severity. It’s getting worse.
Fire is nature’s way of clearing overcrowded trees and underbrush so that larger trees can thrive. For generations, Indigenous peoples lived in harmony with our lands by periodically setting burns. Today we call it fuels-reduction, a strategy fire professionals often use by initiating controlled burns to help avoid future catastrophes. Manual timber thinning and brush removal is also successfully utilized.
What is abundantly clear is that when fuel levels are reduced in advance, nature’s wildfires pass through without disaster. Fires we can live with.
But it’s not just public lands that require fuels-reduction efforts. Much of the highly-combustible acreage in our area is privately held. Those of us who own those lands can immediately take action, protecting not only our own properties but the communities we call home.
Aren’t Fuels-Reduction Projects on Private Lands Expensive?
Fuels-reduction work isn’t free, however, the majority of those costs (up to 70%) can be paid for you. These are not loans. Several funding sources are currently available because fuel-reduction efforts on private lands have proven to be a highly successful strategy to make your land safer from wildfire. IV-FROG can help you access those funds. We’ve done it for many Illinois Valley landowners and we can do it for you. Our service is FREE.
How Long will a Fuels-Reduction Project Work?
In most cases, your lands will need additional maintenance in about five years. However, IV-FROG can pursue funding to help you maintain a fire-resilient property over time, too.
How Can I Take Action?
Call, text or email IV-FROG today. We can answer any questions you may have. Yes, we understand that the programs seem confusing and that you probably hate paperwork. But we know how to get your project off the ground, how to fund the work, and we’ll help you make it happen. That’s exactly what we’re here for.
Why Should I Do It?
Wildfire in our Illinois Valley is a fact of life. But we can live with it by taking the steps necessary to make our houses – and our neighbors’ houses – safer. Fuels-reduction projects work. We can help you pay for it. It’s essential for saving your lands and for protecting our community. This is one of those cases where what’s good for you is good for your neighbors. Truth is, we’re all in this together, and our Illinois Valley is worth protecting. That’s why we live here.
Click the image below to watch what some of your neighbors have to say.
pile burning workshops
Neighbors and friends learning, working together and sharing expertise. That’s Kelpie from Wilson BioChar lighting up the kiln in the video below.
IV-Frog logo photo provided courtesy of Wendy A Williams Artful Photography. Click this link to visit Wendy’s Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/wawartfulphotography/