North Kona CWPP - 2016

HWMO spearheaded the effort to write and implement this 2016 North Kona Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP).

CWPPs are a great planning tool for communities and have become a prerequisite for receiving federal funding for wildfire protection projects. A CWPP assists a community in identifying and prioritizing areas for hazardous fuel reduction treatments, and supports communities to take action. The plan assesses values at risk such as safety, natural resource protection, recreation, scenic values, and economic assets. Through a collaborative process involving input from community members, resource management and firefighting agencies, and a variety of other interested parties, CWPPs help bring wildfire hazard information and planning and action opportunities to all parties. These plans are increasingly important in Hawaii, which faces unique wildfire threats that are becoming more challenging due to increasing ignitions, drought episodes and land use changes. Wildfires have great impacts on Hawaii Island residents and natural resources, affecting:

• Daily life (road closures, traffic, evacuations, post-fire flooding, tax payer dollars)
• Human health and safety (dust, smoke, water quality, burned homes and structures, resident and firefighter safety)
• Ecosystem health and resilience (watersheds, forests, coral reefs, fisheries)
 

Official Plan:

2-Page Summary:

Molokai CWPP - 2016

HWMO spearheaded the effort to write and implement this 2016 Molokai Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP).

CWPPs are a great planning tool for communities and have become a prerequisite for receiving federal funding for wildfire protection projects. A CWPP assists a community in identifying and prioritizing areas for hazardous fuel reduction treatments, and supports communities to take action. The plan assesses values at risk such as safety, natural resource protection, recreation, scenic values, and economic assets. Through a collaborative process involving input from community members, resource management and firefighting agencies, and a variety of other interested parties, CWPPs help bring wildfire hazard information and planning and action opportunities to all parties. These plans are increasingly important in Hawaii, which faces unique wildfire threats that are becoming more challenging due to increasing ignitions, drought episodes and land use changes. Wildfires have great impacts on Hawaii Island residents and natural resources, affecting:

• Daily life (road closures, traffic, evacuations, post-fire flooding, tax payer dollars)
• Human health and safety (dust, smoke, water quality, burned homes and structures, resident and firefighter safety)
• Ecosystem health and resilience (watersheds, forests, coral reefs, fisheries)
 

Official Plan:

2-Page Summary:

Kauai CWPP - Update 2016

HWMO spearheaded the effort to write and implement this 2016 Kauai Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Update.

CWPPs are a great planning tool for communities and have become a prerequisite for receiving federal funding for wildfire protection projects. A CWPP assists a community in identifying and prioritizing areas for hazardous fuel reduction treatments, and supports communities to take action. The plan assesses values at risk such as safety, natural resource protection, recreation, scenic values, and economic assets. Through a collaborative process involving input from community members, resource management and firefighting agencies, and a variety of other interested parties, CWPPs help bring wildfire hazard information and planning and action opportunities to all parties. These plans are increasingly important in Hawaii, which faces unique wildfire threats that are becoming more challenging due to increasing ignitions, drought episodes and land use changes. Wildfires have great impacts on Hawaii Island residents and natural resources, affecting:

• Daily life (road closures, traffic, evacuations, post-fire flooding, tax payer dollars)
• Human health and safety (dust, smoke, water quality, burned homes and structures, resident and firefighter safety)
• Ecosystem health and resilience (watersheds, forests, coral reefs, fisheries)
 

Official Plan:

2-Page Summary:

Hidden Victims of the Nanakuli Fire (VIDEO)

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The Nanakuli Fire in March of 2016 threatened a number of homes along the edges of the valley. However, some precious native plants were also in the path of the destructive fire. Here's the story behind what happened and the larger lesson of how wildfires impact Hawaii's native ecosystems.

Stakeholder Needs Word Clouds Poster

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Click to expand poster.

To better understand the needs of our stakeholders across the State, we are always looking at new, innovative ways to visualize what's important to people.

For the 2015 Nahelehele Dry Forest Symposium, HWMO created a poster for the poster session that we shared with a number of individuals involved in conservation work across the State and the Pacific. 

The poster board, designed by Pablo Beimler (Education & Outreach Coordinator) and written by Pablo, Elizabeth Pickett (Executive Director), and Ilene Grossman (Planning Assistant), emphasizes the importance of collecting agency and community input before moving forward on wildfire mitigation projects. 

Here's an abstract from the poster board:

"Addressing the wildfire issues that persist on the Hawaiian Islands requires collaboration and communication among diverse parties due to the cross-field, cross-jurisdictional nature of wildfires. For years, Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization has been a model for thoroughly engaging its partners and community members in each step of the collaboration process. One of the key reasons HWMO’s projects have been relevant and successful is that the organization only moves forward on projects that are directly driven by stakeholder’s needs. HWMO makes every effort to collect input from land managers, planners, County/State/Federal agencies, local communities, and any other parties affected by wildfire in order to truly understand what is needed on-the-ground. Our display visually highlights the plethora of input we have gathered from the past couple of years, primarily through the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) process."