Buttermilk Country Wildlife Area Fuel Breaks

Buttermilk Country Wildlife Area Fuel Breaks

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) proposes to create fuel breaks along existing fence lines and along Buttermilk Road within the Buttermilk Country Wildlife Area. This fuel break project will establish hand thinned fuel breaks along existing roads and fence lines, seeding of fire-resistant native vegetation such as native perennial grasses in large areas of bare soil, and follow up invasive plant control measures in fuel breaks during subsequent maintenance. Fuel breaks along 1.75 miles of existing fence lines will be 20 feet wide removing all shrubs. The fuel break along 0.4 miles of Buttermilk Road will be 500 feet wide and only remove shrubs to increase the interspacing with irregular edges to minimize aesthetic impacts. Labor will be completed by CAL FIRE or California Conservation Corps hand crews supervised by CDFW staff. Removed vegetation will be lopped and scattered or hauled off site. Bird clearance surveys will be conducted within 5 days prior to initiating any project activities. Biological and vegetation surveys of the project area will also be conducted within 5 days of any work conducted to evaluate the current site conditions and to assess presence/absence of special status plant or animal species. If special status plants or mammal burrows are found they will be flagged and avoided. Pre-project surveys and fuel reduction activities will commence in May 2023, or as access permits. Operations will continue, based on crew availability, until completed. These treatments may be repeated as needed to maintain the fuel breaks.

Inyo

Southern California