Wagner Ridge Fuel Break Project - SNC 1328
Summary
SCH Number
2021070332
Public Agency
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Document Title
Wagner Ridge Fuel Break Project - SNC 1328
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
7/16/2021
Document Description
The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) would provide funding for fuel reduction and thinning treatments to widen the existing 4.2-mile-long Wagner Ridge Fuel Break by at least 100-200 feet, ultimately creating an approximately 400-foot shaded fuel break along the entirety of the ridgetop to reduce risk of high severity wildfire. The project consists of lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and lands managed by Stanislaus National Forest, totaling at least 213 acres of treatments. The project would provide a location for: 1) fire to remain as a surface fire and not transition to a destructive, fast moving tree crown fire, and 2) suppression crews to safely make a tactical fight against the next approaching wildfire. The proposed activities serve to reduce wildfire risks to wildland-urban interface communities.
Contact Information
Name
Shannon Ciotti
Agency Name
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Responsible Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
Greeley Hill, Wagner Ridge, and Buck Meadows communities
Counties
Mariposa
Regions
Southern California
Other Location Info
4.2 miles along Wagner Ridge in northern Mariposa County bordering Tuolumne County, centered approximately at 37°47'10.5"N 120°07'10.6"W
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Public Resources Code Section 4799.05(d)(1)
Reasons for Exemption
CEQA does not apply to prescribed fire, thinning, or fuel reduction projects undertaken on federal lands to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire that have been reviewed under the NEPA if the primary role of a state or local agency is providing funding or staffing for those projects. The SNC would provide funding to implement fuel reduction and thinning treatments on federal land within Stanislaus National Forest and land managed by BLM. The proposed activities within Stanislaus National Forest were reviewed in their entirety under NEPA in the Monotti Urban Fuel Reduction and Plantation Thinning Project Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The Decision Notice for the EA/FONSI was signed by the U.S. Forest Service on May 12, 2011. Although the decision was signed 10 years ago, it has been determined that the NEPA decision is still relevant and viable. The proposed activities within BLM-managed lands were reviewed in their entirety under NEPA in the Wagner Ridge Fuel Break Watershed Protection Project Initial Study/EA and Proposed Negative Declaration. The Initial Study/Proposed Negative Declaration was never approved or adopted; however, the Decision Record for the EA/FONSI was signed by BLM on July 24, 2019.
County Clerk
Mariposa
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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