East Pico Blanco Fuelbreak Project

East Pico Blanco Fuelbreak Project

This treatment will cover approximately 30 acres east of Pico Blanco Mountain and will create a new shaded fuelbreak that will serve to connect two Forest Service fuelbreaks- the Skinner Ridge Fuelbreak to the north and the Post Summit to Little Sur Fuelbreak to the south. This fuelbreak will be approximately 300 feet wide and will run an estimated 6,200 feet (1.17 miles) from the Little Sur River south to the northern terminus of the Post Summit to Little Sur Fuelbreak. The majority of the fuelbreak will follow a ridgeline between the two end points but will have segments that follow smaller ridges or geographical features. This area is remote and cannot be accessed by vehicles or machinery, therefore the treatments for this fuelbreak be done only with tools that can be carried by hand (loppers, chainsaws, other hand tools). Within the boundaries of the 300’ by 6200’ shaded fuelbreak, trees will be limbed/pruned to a height of ten feet from the highest ground level whenever possible using chainsaws or loppers. Other non-tree woody vegetation will be lopped or cut to achieve a horizontal mosaic pattern of no more than 25% cover of woody vegetation within a given acre (excluding trees). Pruned limbs and cut vegetation will be lopped and scattered to a depth of not to exceed eighteen inches. Trees will not be removed unless they are less than twelve inches in diameter, act as a ladder fuel to the overstory and do not have identified wildlife nesting or roosting in the tree. Forbs and other vegetation will not be removed or cut unless they act as ladder fuels or aid the horizontal spread of fire on the ground. Trees of cultural significance and State and Federally listed plant species and habitats will be flagged and avoided. The end objective is to have a treatment with modified fuel characteristics that decrease fire rate of spread significantly, do not allow crown fire spread in the mature canopy, maintain or not significantly decrease the existing canopy cover, and diminish the intensity of a potential wildfire long enough to allow time for other firefighting tactics to be used in adjacent areas.

Monterey

Monterey

Unincorporated

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Coastal Commission (CCC), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marin Region 7 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, District 5 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region 3 (RWQCB), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Department of Toxic Substances Control, Office of Historic Preservation, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality

Other (Fuels reduction)

Fuels reduction

Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Mandatory Findings of Significance, Mineral Resources, Noise, Tribal Cultural Resources, Vegetation, Wildfire