Tazlina
The Tazlina Community Wildfire Protection Planning Area covers from mile 108.3 to 113 on the Richardson Highway including the confluence of the Tazlina and Copper River expanding to the eastern side of the Copper River and west into the forested tundra encompassing the full fire protection management area. Tazlina is an Athabascan word meaning “swift water.” A permanent village was established on the north and south banks of the Tazlina River near the confluence of the Copper River, by the 1900’s. In 1956 a Catholic Boarding School was built in Tazlina, housing students from all over the state. In 1971 the boarding school closed soon after the Glennallen Public School was established.
The community of Tazlina has one large grocery store with and attached liquor store and gas station. In this planning area there are two State of Alaska offices, Division of Forestry - Fire Protection and DOT, as well as the Native Village of Tazlina’s office. Tazlina’s planning area consists of tourism businesses, two construction companies, a local store, and community well. The are several accesses to the Tazlina and Copper River, allowing for both subsistence and sport fishing opportunities. This area depends heavily on tourism and passing travelers to support local businesses.
Land ownership in this area includes private, state, BLM, village and tribal corporation lands, native allotments, and lands managed by the University of Alaska. This area holds a rich history deeply embedded with cultural and historic significance to the Athabaskan and Ahtna People. This planning area is continuously forested land of spruce and mixed hardwood, areas impacted by beetle kill from an outbreak in the 1990’s, although there has not been any large scale fires in this planning area, smaller human caused starts are not uncommon making strategic wildland fire planning all the more important.
We are currently in the process of creating a CWPP for the Tazlina planning area. It will be available here once it is published.
CWPP Planning Area Map
Community planning areas include the wildland urban interface (WUI), defined as the area where human development meets and intermingles with undeveloped wildland and vegetative fuels. Included are lands designated as “Critical” and “Full” fire management options. Fire management options are assigned by jurisdictional agencies (landowners/managers), while protection agencies provide fire suppression responsibilities and initial response to wildfires. Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection is the protection agency responsible for fire suppression in the Copper River Basin. See https://forestry.alaska.gov/fire/fireplans for more information on fire management options.
The goal of creating a community wildfire protection plan is to reduce the potential for disaster within the planning boundary by recognizing the hazards, prioritizing areas of protection, and developing a workable action plan with clear goals and objectives to mitigate the risks from wildfire, life, and property.
Explore the CWPP Planning Map App. with useful planning layers including CWPP areas, fire management options, land ownership, vegetation layers, and fire return interval models.
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Copper River Basin Community Wildfire Protection Plan Survey
Firewood Cutting Survey
1st CWPP Meeting in Tazlina
Notes from past meetings
There are no past meetings’ notes yet.