Natural and Cultural Resource Protection and Preservation Program (NCRP3) 

Del Norte County, CA

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About the project

The NCRP3 Program, an initiative in Del Norte County, CA, is a collaborative effort led by the County Office of Emergency Services to protect and preserve natural and cultural resources in the face of disasters. The County, supported by Tidal Basin Government Consulting, engaged four federally recognized tribes headquartered with Del Norte, along with the City of Crescent City (the county seat) and other cultural stewards, to develop an NCRP3 Disaster Plan and a tabletop exercise to enhance learning for an NCRP3 response team.

Natural & Cultural Resource Protection Program

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Challenge

Del Norte County, CA, long the homeland of the Yurok and Tolowa people, is known for its impressive natural and cultural resources; yet significant gaps remain regarding planning or other initiatives to protect and preserve these important assets during and after a disaster. The region faces numerous hazards, including wildfire, drought, earthquake, tsunami, and severe storms; increasingly, climate change is intensifying the threat of several of these. Two Wild and Scenic Rivers, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site (Redwood National and State Parks), and multiple Indigenous traditional knowledge and heritage collections are among the values at risk.

Solution

Tidal Basin supported the Natural and Cultural Resource Preservation and Protection Program (NCRP3) by creating a NCRP3 Disaster Plan and a tabletop exercise to promote future NCRP3 Response Team familiarity with the Disaster Plan.

Over the course of a year, the project team met multiple times to determine and characterize plan elements within an inclusive environment that recognized multiple viewpoints and priorities. The Plan can be activated in response to a situation associated with any hazard – natural or human-caused – that may affect Del Norte County requiring planned, coordinated responses by multiple agencies or jurisdictions.

The planning team was comprised of local emergency managers, cultural stewards, and heritage custodians, including those from Del Norte County OES, Elk Valley Rancheria, Pulikla Tribe of Yurok People (formerly “Resighini Rancheria”), Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, Yurok Tribe, City of Crescent City, Del Norte Association for Cultural Awareness, and the Latinx community. Technical assistance was provided by Tidal Basin Government Consulting and the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative.

Resilience Delivered

Tidal Basin successfully delivered the NCRP3 Plan deliverables for Del Norte County to implement.

In additional to the NCRP3 deliverables, the Tidal Basin team discovered various obstacles during the analysis of existing literature and interviews with stakeholders. The team provided Del Norte County with beneficial outcomes obtained through the planning process.

Your knowledge of the complex governmental regulations and equally complex insurance and adjusting issues really helped the county maximize the public assistance that was available after all of these disasters. You delivered what you promised, and we are confident in your ability and the ability of your firm to provide these services fully on a technical and professional level yet be able to translate clearly and concisely the intricate and sometimes subjective FEMA regulations which we could not have done without you.

Salvatore R. Zappulla, Division Director Monroe County Budget and Finance, Monroe County, Florida

The State of Alaska…[has] a significant investment in the disaster recovery process for both state and federally declared events…. The collaboration with Tidal Basin in these efforts has been so successful and seamless that in most instances applicants and FEMA staff don’t even realize we have contractors on board unless we tell them. Our interaction with Tidal Basin staff and managers works and feels like true teammates and the result is a faster, more comprehensive delivery of disaster recovery resources to survivors.

Sam Walton, Program Manager for Disaster Assistance, State of Alaska

The 2004 hurricane season was a difficult one for Lee County in Southwest Florida. We were fortunate, indeed, to have retained your firm to process FEMA claims following Hurricane Charley. Especially effective was the coordinated approach you used in seeking financial relief from separate sources such as FEMA, FHWA, NRCS and insurance. …The knowledge needed to deal with FEMA regulations is mind-boggling. It was obvious you and your team are very much up to speed with these regulations, procedures and processes.Without hesitation, we would recommend you and your firm to anyone faced with the task of processing large and/or complex loss claims in a disaster environment. Your firm’s ability to bring together the right team of professionals at the right time resulted in the creation of a superior product. Your thoroughness, knowledge, attention to detail, and logical approach provided us with the assurance that we would obtain the maximum reimbursement from all eligible sources.

Tony Majul, Budget Director, Lee County, Florida