Overview
Every owner of forestland in the state of Washington is obligated to furnish or provide adequate protection against the spread of fire. If any forestland owner is unable to provide adequate fire protection, WA DNR will provide the protection and annually impose assessments on each forested parcel. DNR staff coordinate with the assessors and treasurers in 34 counties to levy the forest protection assessment against unimproved land as shown in each ownership on the county assessor’s records. In most scenarios, counties collect the assessment fees and send the money to DNR monthly, keeping .50 per parcel for administration. Since late 2017, WA DNR has been improving their management of the FFPA program, including analyzing policies, clarifying definitions, and updating guidelines and procedures. A business analysis process was completed to identify ways that information systems could better support the improved processes.
The results of the business analysis and an application discovery were used to design and develop a web-based solution for the DNR to help track the tasks involved with assessing, submitting, billing, and reporting on forest fire protection assessments. The solution included detailed parcel-based mapping, workflow task tracking, reporting, and dashboard statistics and visualizations.
