Eastern Alpine Communities Fuel Reduction
Summary
SCH Number
2020100204
Public Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CAL FIRE)
Document Title
Eastern Alpine Communities Fuel Reduction
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
10/12/2020
Present Land Use
Rural Residential
Document Description
The 5-acre project is located within the Shay Creek residential tract near Markleeville, California. This residential subdivision is accessed by Shay Creek Road, a single lane paved road, and Hot Springs Road, a two-lane paved road. The project area is heavily forested, with existing stocking of 300 square feet basal area per acre in stems 5” diameter breast height (DBH) and greater. The proposed action will entail 1) removal of select conifer trees 1” DBH to 26”DBH within 15 feet of the edge of Shay Creek Road and Hot Springs Road to create a general discontinuity of vertical and horizontal fuels, 2) retention of the largest, most fire resilient trees at spacing of 15’-25’ depending on DBH, 3) pruning of residual trees to a minimum height of 10 feet as measured from the lowest live green limb to the top of the surface fuels, 4) removal of surface vegetation that provides vertical continuity of hazardous fuels, including small trees, brush, and down woody debris, especially within dripline of residual conifers, and 5) chipping and removal of all slash resulting from the project. The proposed action will effectively reduce hazardous fuels within the subdivision and its main access routes.
Contact Information
Name
Thomas Tinsley
Agency Name
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Name
Agency Name
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)
Contact Types
Project Applicant
Location
Counties
Alpine
Total Acres
5
Other Location Info
Portions of: T10N, R19E, Sec 24 & T10N, R20E, Sec 19 MDBM
Other Information
Shay Creek residential tract near Markleeville, California
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 4, 15304 Minor Alterations to Land
Reasons for Exemption
This project fits under portions the following class of Categorical Exemption: 15304 Minor Alterations To Land (Class 4) allows minor alteration of vegetation including fuel management activities to reduce volume of flammable vegetation, provided the activities do not result in the taking of endangered, rare, or threatened plant/animal species or cause significant erosion and sedimentation of waters. Trees targeted for removal and pruning of residual trees will be restricted to those that reduce the vertical and horizontal continuity of fuels, and/or provide for improved ingress/egress in the event of wildfire. The proposed project has been designed to protect hydrology and water and soil resources to prevent significant erosion or sedimentation of waters. The project, as designed, is consistent with the use of a Categorical Exemption.
Field review by CAL FIRE staff confirmed that no exceptions apply that would preclude the use of a notice of exemption for this project. The Department has concluded that no significant environmental impact would occur to aesthetics, agriculture and forestland or timberland, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use planning, mineral resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation or traffic, or to utilities and service systems. Documentation of the environmental review completed by the Department is kept on file at Cal Fire Camino headquarters.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
Disclaimer: The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these documents. To obtain an attachment in a different format, please contact the lead agency at the contact information listed above. You may also contact the OPR via email at state.clearinghouse@opr.ca.gov or via phone at (916) 445-0613. For more information, please visit OPR’s Accessibility Site.