While wildfire does not capture the attention of Delta County, Michigan residents like it does many communities of the western United States, there is sufficient wildfire risk in eastern Delta County to justify planning and action to mitigate the risk. Many of the forests in the planning area contain highly flammable trees such as jack pine and red pine that will eventually burn with potentially catastrophic consequences. In 1988, the Stockyard fire burned 1,100 acres of jack pine forest on the Stonington Peninsula. Since that time, new homes have been built and more are planned, increasing the risks of catastrophic wildfire.

Background

This document was written as a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) in order to meet the requirements of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003 which seeks to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire through reduction of forest fuels in National Forests and through the completion of CWPP’s for communities within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).

Report prepared for Eastern Delta County and Hiawatha National Forest by Chris Cantway and Emily Clegg (GIS), The Nature Conservancy in Michigan. Funding provided by Hiawatha National Forest.