DJ&A partnered with Yellowstone County to update the County’s 2006 Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). Yellowstone County contains Montana’s largest city, surrounded by rural landscapes with significant agricultural and forested lands. The updated CWPP provides a comprehensive assessment of wildfire risk across the County, prioritizes areas for risk reduction, recommends measures to reduce structural ignitability, delineates the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), enables access to federal funding for wildfire mitigation, and streamlines federal projects within the WUI through Categorical Exclusions for projects meeting criteria defined in the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003.

During the CWPP update, DJ&A facilitated nine core team meetings, led community meetings in Lockwood and Laurel, reviewed and addressed comments received during the public review period, and coordinated closely with the core team to ensure the community’s unique needs were reflected. We also ensured compliance with federal and state requirements. Additionally, we developed an ArcGIS StoryMap to inform the public throughout the update process; this platform continues to serve as a resource for wildfire hazard and risk information.

Wildfire risk evaluation relied on datasets from the 2020 Montana Wildfire Risk Assessment (MWRA), developed by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and Pyrologix. Input from the core team and the public regarding highly valued resources, assets, and critical egress routes was incorporated into the risk assessment.

Key Services

• Facilitation of in-person public meetings

• Development of an online platform (ArcGIS StoryMap) to document the CWPP process and provide public access

• Wildfire risk assessment and delineation of the WUI

• Identification of Priority Areas for wildfire risk mitigation

• Development of a detailed Action Plan for future implementation

• Public engagement facilitation and comment analysis

Value Added

DJ&A’s experience with state and federal agencies on CWPPs in Montana helped streamline the update process, producing a final plan that meets all regulatory requirements while reflecting the County’s unique needs. Our expertise in wildfire hazard assessment and community engagement contributed to a highly effective and well-received CWPP.

The Yellowstone County CWPP was completed in July 2025 and received a 2026 ACEC Montana Engineering Excellence Award in the Studies, Research & Consulting Engineering Services category, demonstrating the quality and impact of this plan.