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National Fire Plan Success Story

Student Conservation Association, CWPP Crew
North Carolina Division of Forest Resources and the Student Conservation Association
National Fire Plan - Community Assistance
2008

Members of the Student Conservation Association CWPP crew.
Nation's first Student Conservation Association CWPP crew members, from left, Hannah Burgard, Jeff Dressler, Alison McClusky and Sarah Osborn (in Sylva, NC).

As part of an ongoing effort to improve wildfire mitigation and suppression, the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources partnered with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) to form and train a first-in-the-nation, four-member student team to complete 21 Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) in three western North Carolina counties.

The plans included assessments of wildland fire hazards demographic information, pre-suppression strategies, and prevention and mitigation capabilities. This information was compiled into a geo-database that was presented to representatives from the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, North Carolina Emergency Management, structural fire departments and impacted communities.

Swain, Graham, and Haywood counties are bounded by Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Nantahala National Forest and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian’s Qualla land trust. This project was funded by grants from the National Park Service and USDA Forest Service.

Coincidentally, a wildfire destroyed nine homes in a community that this year’s crew assessed as being a high-hazard neighborhood just three weeks before its destruction. The CWPP data collected was used extensively by NCDFR during a wildfire after-action review concerning the blaze.

The North Carolina Division of Forest Service plans to continue its partnership with the SCA to assign two additional CWPP crews in the coming year. The 50-year-old organization offers internship programs for high school and college students in parks and forests throughout the nation. Throughout its existence, the SCA has provided students with hands-on experience in conservation efforts.

Contact: Shardul Raval, North Carolina Division of Forest Resources, 919-857-4850, shardul.raval@ncmail.net.