The Watershed Assessment and Vulnerability Evaluation (WAVE) program was specifically designed to help private landowners recover from wildfire. This program benefits landowners by giving them personalized recovery plans to meet their land management goals. These goals may include forest regeneration, infrastructure protection, water quality protection, wildlife habitat recovery, erosion control, flood mitigation, etc. The landowner’s goals are evaluated through a set of assessments and criteria. Priority restoration projects are recommended to achieve their goals, always with the stabilization of the water cycle in mind.

The WAVE program was designed to complement other government agencies’ post-wildfire response programs, like the Natural Resources Conservation Services Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program and works with local entities to provide outreach and assessment services to landowners around the state. What makes WAVE unique from other post-fire assistance is the ability to provide post-wildfire restoration technical assistance to landowners quickly and at various scales. The program and assessments are flexible to reflect landowner priorities.