Yosemite Area Forest Restoration Phase II, YNP Protecting Sequoias

2 Documents in Project

Summary

SCH Number
2021100076
Public Agency
Mariposa County Resource Conservation District (MCRCD)
Document Title
Yosemite Area Forest Restoration Phase II, YNP Protecting Sequoias
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
10/5/2021
Document Description
The primary goal of the project is to remove hazard trees and biomass up to 200 feet from the road corridor. Small diameter green trees ( <20"DBH) or hazard trees will be fallen and removed. Biomass may either be transported offsite, chipped, pile-burned, or converted into biochar through a portable biogen plant staged at one of several locations in the park. The work is critical to meet the public safety and tree disposal needs stemming from widespread tree mortality in the southern Sierra Nevada. The project protects infrastructure and increases public safety by removing hazard trees and thinning fuels on critical corridors. It also protects communities located within the Wildland Urban Interface, specifically Foresta, Yosemite Village, Yosemite West, and Wawona. The project protects the Tuolumne and Merced Grove of giant sequoias. This project also creates a fuel break in the event of wildland fire or if a prescribed fire is to be conducted.

Contact Information

Name
Melinda Barrett
Agency Name
MCRCD
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency

Location

Counties
Mariposa
Other Location Info
Project is in Yosemite National Park along Wawona Road, Tioga Road, El Portal Road, South Side Drive, Big Oak Flat Road, Henness Ridge Road, South Landing Road, and Moss Creek Truck Trail. The project is in Mariposa County. The tree removal work is conducted within a 200 foot distance of the road.

Notice of Exemption

Exempt Status
Emergency Project
Type, Section or Code
Sec. 21080(b)(4); 15269(b)(c)
Reasons for Exemption
The Yosemite Fire Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement (2004) describes creating fuel breaks along Wawona Road as a major goal. All necessary mitigations for this project have been included to protect natural and cultural resources that have the potential to be harmed during implementation. Additionally, tree mortality hazard mitigation efforts are a short-term task necessary to mitigate an emergency. As such, they are exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, Statutory Exemptions, Section 15269 EMERGENCY PROJECTS. The felling of dead or dying hazard trees along federally-maintained roads is necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency to public health and emergency access. The abundance of dead or dying hazard trees in these locations is a result of a severe drought in the area and bark beetle-infestation and is a short-term project.
County Clerk
Mariposa

Attachments

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