Arid Lands Initiative Community Forum Questionnaire

Rev. 07/21/2017 OMB Control No. 1090-0011

Expires 08/31/2018

ALI Hanford-YTC Community Forum Questionnaire

The Arid Lands Initiative (ALI) is a conservation partnership working with landowners in the Columbia Plateau, WA, to sustain working landscapes, maintain shrub-steppe habitats and improve connections between those habitats to benefit people and wildlife.

The ALI has identified rangeland fire as one of the most serious threats to shrub-steppe habitat in the Hanford-Yakima Training Center Landscape. Working lands and the livelihoods of those living in the area are significantly impacted by fire as well. In addition, there is a sizeable area between Yakima Ridge, the Rattlesnake Hills and Hanford Reach National Monument (aka, the East Valley) that is not fully served by Yakima and Benton County fire districts.

As a private landowner or leaseholder in the area, we are interested in your ideas, opinions and concerns about rangeland fire and the potential opportunities you see to address this issue. We are gathering preliminary information on this topic from you and your neighbors via this questionnaire, and will host a community meeting in October 2017 to discuss your thoughts and concerns and explore potential solutions.

Your responses to this survey will only be used to inform the project and are confidential. We will not publicly identify you or your opinions.

Thank you for taking the time to provide your input to us.

We will be hosting a community meeting in October with neighboring landowners and lessees. We would like you to come and will be contacting you with additional information before the meeting.

If you have any questions about this survey or project, please contact any of the following ALI partners:

Trina Bayard, Audubon Washington, [email protected], (206) 652-2444 x 109

Jessie Gonzales, USFWS, [email protected], (509) 665-3508 x 2000

Mark Teske, WDFW, [email protected], (509) 952-8096

Ryan Stutzman, WDFW, [email protected], (509) 786-1923 x 109

Questions about land use:

1. Do you use your land for any of the following? Check all that apply.

• Farming or cropland

• Livestock

• Commercial or industrial use

• Long-term leasing (farming)

• Long-term leasing (grazing)

• Other (please specify) _______________________________________

• I do not use my land for the activities above.

2. How would you describe the dominant land use on your property? Select 1 or 2 uses.

• Orchards/vineyards/hops

• Irrigated pasture/hay

• Irrigated cropland

• Non-irrigated cropland

• Rangeland grazing

• Other (please specify) _______________________________________

• None of the above

3. Using a 5-point scale, please rank the level of importance the following aspects of land ownership or leasing hold with you, with 1 being not at all important and 5 being very important. (Check one box for each row.)

	1 = Not at all Important	2 = Slightly Important	3 = Somewhat Important	4 = Moderately Important	5 = Extremely Important	0 = Don’t Know/ Not Applicable
Beauty and Scenery
Preserving Natural Landscapes
Providing Habitat for Wildlife
Financial Investment
Live in a Rural Setting
Source of Income
Provide a Legacy for my Family
Growing Crops
Ranching and Grazing
Hunting
Outdoor Recreation
Other (please specify): __________________________

4. What activities might you consider pursuing on your land in the future? Select 1 or 2 activities.

• Irrigated farming

• Dryland farming

• Grazing

• Habitat improvement

• Conservation easements

• Urban development

• Other (please specify) _______________________________________

• None

5. In your opinion, how important are the following reasons for owning or leasing your land? (Circle one number in each row.)

	Not at all Important	Slightly Important	Somewhat Important	Moderately Important	Extremely Important
Beauty and Scenery	1	2	3	4	5
Preserving Natural Landscapes	1	2	3	4	5
Providing Habitat for Wildlife	1	2	3	4	5
Financial Investment	1	2	3	4	5
Live in a Rural Setting	1	2	3	4	5
Source of Income	1	2	3	4	5
Provide a Legacy for my Family	1	2	3	4	5
Growing Crops	1	2	3	4	5
Ranching and Grazing	1	2	3	4	5
Hunting	1	2	3	4	5
Outdoor Recreation	1	2	3	4	5
Other (please specify): __________________________	1	2	3	4	5

Concerns:

6. Please indicate your level of concern about the degree to which the following issues pose a risk to your land and/or livelihood. (Circle one number for each row.)

	No Concern	Slight Concern	Moderate Concern	High Concern	Extreme Concern
Air Pollution	1	2	3	4	5
Water Pollution	1	2	3	4	5
Climate Change	1	2	3	4	5
Drought/Adequate Water	1	2	3	4	5
Wildfire	1	2	3	4	5
Soil Erosion	1	2	3	4	5
Crop Damage by Wildlife	1	2	3	4	5
Invasive Plants	1	2	3	4	5
Unwanted Insects	1	2	3	4	5
Plant or Animal Disease	1	2	3	4	5
Trespassing	1	2	3	4	5
Wildlife Poaching	1	2	3	4	5
Environmental Regulations	1	2	3	4	5
High Property Taxes	1	2	3	4	5
Lack of Fire Protection Services	1	2	3	4	5
Cost of Fire Protection Services	1	2	3	4	5
Development of Nearby Lands	1	2	3	4	5
Other (please specify) _______________________________________	1	2	3	4	5

7. Please indicate your level of concern about the following impacts associated with fire. . (Circle one number for each row.)

	No Concern	Slight Concern	Moderate Concern	High Concern	Extreme Concern
Liability for Starting a Fire	1	2	3	4	5
Liability for Fighting a Fire	1	2	3	4	5
Damage to Structures/Property	1	2	3	4	5
Loss of Future Income	1	2	3	4	5
Costs of Restoration	1	2	3	4	5
Human Safety and Health	1	2	3	4	5
Livestock Safety and Health	1	2	3	4	5
Smoke and Air Quality	1	2	3	4	5
Appearance/Beauty	1	2	3	4	5
Post-Fire Soil Erosion	1	2	3	4	5
Negative Impacts to Wildlife	1	2	3	4	5
Other (please specify) ___________________________	1	2	3	4	5

Current fire risk reduction efforts:

8. Have you pursued any of following actions on your land in the last 3 years? Check all that apply.

• Created a defensible space (e.g., removed vegetation around structures, installed fire resistant siding, roofing, or decking, etc.)

• Developed an evacuation plan

• Improved accessibility for emergency services and supplies (e.g., created or improved access routes, access to emergency water supplies or safe areas)

• Fuels reduction (e.g., management of vegetation, mowing weeds and other fuels, pruning or thinning large trees, brush removal)

• Completed a pre-fire risk assessment

• Created or maintained fuel breaks around the perimeter of property or specific fields

• Other (please specify) _______________________________________

Potential solutions to reduce risk of fire or improve fire response:

9. Please indicate your level of interest in the following types of efforts to learn how to reduce fire hazards on your property. (Circle one number for each row.)

	Not Interested	Somewhat Interested	Highly Interested
Community education programs	1	2	3
Demonstration projects on your property	1	2	3
Demonstration projects on a neighbor’s property	1	2	3
Direct technical assistance	1	2	3
Incentive or cost-share programs for fuel breaks	1	2	3
Fire-wise property evaluation and training	1	2	3
Assistance writing a fire management plan	1	2	3
Other (please specify)	1	2	3

10. Please rank your level of support for the following potential courses of action aimed at improving coordinated responses to rangeland fire in the East Valley portion of Yakima County and western Benton County (Rank using numbers 1-6).

	Rank
Build community support for coordinated agency response
Establish a formal fire district for the East Valley?
Increase coordination and information sharing among private landowners
Increase coordination between county, state, federal, and tribal landowners
Increase coordination between land owners and the county
Use cost-share programs for creating and maintaining fuel breaks
Other: (please specify)

Preferred mode of communication:

11. How do you prefer to learn more about reducing fire risk or improving coordinated fire response in the East Yakima Valley? Please select up to 3.

• Talk to someone by phone

• Have someone visit me on my land

• Written materials/publications sent by US mail (e.g., letters and newsletters)

• Internet (e.g., visit websites on my own, use email, attend a web meeting or conference)

• Attend a local meeting, conference, or workshop

• Don’t want any advice/information

• Other (please specify) _______________________________________

Additional Information:

Please use this space to provide any additional information or thoughts you’d like to share.

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Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: We estimate it will take you 10 minutes to complete the questionnaire, including time to read instructions, gather information, complete, and submit the assessment. We will use the information to identify what is going well and what could be improved in the partnership and program. Your response is voluntary. We may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. You may submit comments on any aspect of this information collection to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: BPHC, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803. Please do not send your survey to this address.