HFT Steps After Receiving Grant

After receiving notice that you have received a grant to do hazardous fuel reduction work on your land, you should take the following steps in order to understand the requirements of the grant and to get started reducing the fire risk and improving the health of your forest on your property.  A Bitter Root RC&D Community Forester will be laying out treatment areas on your land and working up an agreement with treatment costs.  After this is done, you will receive the agreement, a map of your property and treatment areas, a list of contractors, guidelines for hiring contractors, a W-9 form, an In-Kind expense documentation spreadsheet to keep track of costs, and treatment specifications required by the grant.

1. Thoroughly read through all the information you receive from the Bitter Root RC&D to ensure you understand all aspects of this program.
2. Contact the Bitter Root RC&D and talk to one of the Community Foresters.  He will answer any questions you might have in regards to the project and grant.
3. Set up an appointment with an RC&D Community Forester to come out to your land to discuss the grant and walk your property with you.
4. Once you understand all aspects of the program, make sure the RC&D Community Forester understands the desires you have for your land and any concerns you might have with regard to the program and/or treatments required by the grant.
5. It will be your decision to determine whether you want to perform the thinning, pruning and slash disposal yourself or to hire a contractor to do this work for you.
6. If you decide to do the work yourself, you will need to work closely with the Community Forester to make sure work is completed according to grant specifications.  You will also need to make sure that you understand what expenses can be counted toward your in-kind cost share allowance.
7. If a decision is made that you want someone else to do the work, you should begin by starting to contact contractors from the list provided and talk to them about giving you a bid for the work that needs to be done.
8. You do not need to hire a contractor off the list provided by the RC&D.  The Community Forester will work with you to ensure whatever contractor you contact understands the program and is willing to meet the specifications of the grant.
9. Keep the RC&D Community Forester involved in this process.  The Community Forester will work with you to ensure you are being treated fairly by contractors.
10. Once you receive all the bids you require for doing this work, you should contact the Community Forester to discuss the bids.
11. After making a decision about whom to hire to do the work, you should work up a contract/agreement with the contractor that spells out the payment procedures and any specifications you want to include in your contract/agreement with them. 
12. Once you have obtained a signed contract/agreement with the contractor to do the work, the Bitter Root RC&D will advise that you need to set up a meeting between the Community Forester, you and the contractor on your property to go over all the requirements for this grant/project.  This will ensure everyone understands what needs to be done.
13. After this on-the-ground meeting and the agreement between you and the Bitter Root RC&D is signed, the contractor can go to work.
14. The Bitter Root RC&D Community Forester will perform periodic inspections throughout the life of the project to ensure the work is getting accomplished and that the contractor is not thinning too many trees but is thinning enough trees to ensure the reduction of the fire risk on your property, thus meeting the grant specifications.
15. Remember that the purpose of this program is to:
    1. leave the best trees on your property,
    2. to reduce the chances of a running crown fire through the tops of the trees,
    3. to reduce the chances of a ground fire from becoming a crown fire by reducing the ladder fuels leading up into the tree crowns, and
    4. to improve the health and vigor of your forest to be able to withstand insect and disease infestations. 
16. It is also important for you to know that this program is NOT designed to “fireproof” your property, but only to reduce the fire risk.  If a fire does occur in and around your property and the burning conditions are extreme, there is a possibility that you could still have a devastating fire because of those extreme burning conditions.  This program will definitely reduce the chance of this but cannot guarantee the risk that this type of fire will be totally eliminated.
17. If seasonal weather makes it impossible to timely dispose of slash, 10% of the agreed-upon cost will be withheld until such time as the slash is properly disposed of and final inspection can be made.
18. Once the contractor or you have completed your job, a Community Forester will come out and give a final inspection.
19. If the work passes final inspection, you will need to submit all invoices, bills, receipts, mill records, expenses, etc. to Bitter Root RC&D.
20. If the work does not pass the final inspection, the Community Forester will advise you/contractor as to what additional work needs to be completed before final payment.
21. Bitter Root RC&D will review all invoices, bills, receipts, mill records, expenses, etc. and will determine what costs will be approved.
22. Once all costs are approved, we will send you a check for 50% of the approved costs up to the maximum amount as outlined in the agreement with Bitter Root RC&D.  If your expenses for accomplishing the work are over the maximum amount on the agreement with RC&D, we will pay you up to, but not over, the maximum amount on the agreement.  If the final costs are less than the maximum amount on the agreement with the RC&D, the RC&D will pay 50% of those final costs which may be less than the maximum cost allowed.

Any questions regarding the hazardous fuel treatment grant program should be referred to the Bitter Root RC&D Community Forester.