Yellowstone County Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Welcome! This is a story map, or interactive graphic tool, that is devoted to the development of the Yellowstone County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). This CWPP planning process has been ongoing since Fall 2024.

The purpose of this story map is to engage and educate members of the public in the CWPP update process, especially during the time of record-breaking fire seasons and rapid growth in our communities. The story map will be updated as new information becomes available. Please visit the story map regularly for information on how the public can engage in this process by clicking on the Public Engagement heading in the navigation bar.

CWPPs have economic, social, and environmental benefits including:

• Reducing the direct and indirect social, economic, and environmental costs of wildfire.
• Coordinating wildfire risk reduction with other community values and priorities.
• Bringing together diverse interests to tackle local wildfire challenges and opportunities.
• Identifying potential resources and funding for mitigation activities.
• Increasing community awareness and engagement in risk reduction.
• Influencing where federal agencies (BLM, BIA) prioritize fuel treatments.

An updated CWPP facilitates informed and effective decision-making, improving Yellowstone County's ability to plan for, respond to, and recover from wildfire events.

Click the arrow on the right to advance slide.

• Fire Departments and Rural Fire Districts
• Yellowstone County DES
• Yellowstone Board of County Commissioners
• Yellowstone County Residents, Private Landowners, and Community Councils

• Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation

• Bureau of Land Management
• Bureau of Indian Affairs