Sunshine Hill Jamestown Road Shaded Fuel Break
Summary
SCH Number
2023050378
Public Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CAL FIRE)
Document Title
Sunshine Hill Jamestown Road Shaded Fuel Break
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
5/15/2023
Document Description
The proposed project will reduce hazardous fuel loading along Jamestown Road and Sunshine Hill Road near the community of Sonora in Tuolumne County. The project area is approximately 46 acres in size. The initial and current grant agreement for this project specifies 31 acres; however, this Notice of Exemption covers 46 acres in the event funds are still available after treating the initial 31 acres. The project area ranges in elevation from approximately 1,800 feet to 2,050 feet. The objective of the project is to reduce hazardous fuel loading and create a 500 ft wide shaded fuel break adjacent to Jamestown Road, the Sierra Meadows subdivision, the Lode Star Mobile Home Park, and residences along Sunshine Hill Road. The project area is in an urban interface setting. Vegetation at the site would best be described as oak woodland. Overstory tree species consist primarily of interior live oak, California gray pine, buckeye, valley oak, and blue oak with an understory of dense manzanita, toyon, poison oak, and ceanothus. Surface and ladder fuels will be reduced or modified by mastication, chipping, or by hand cutting, piling and burning. Mastication may be conducted by a variety of track laying type tractors. Hand work for chipping, as well as piling and burning will be conducted by hand crews using chainsaws and other hand tools. Trees less than 12-inches in diameter at breast height (dbh), surface fuels and ladder fuels will be removed to achieve a target residual tree spacing of 25 to 30-feet between stems. Residual trees will be pruned to a height of approximately 10-feet above ground level. Dead trees of any size may be removed and chipped, piled and burned, or masticated. The reduction in vegetation will create an open and parklike shaded fuel break condition that will minimize fire behavior and create a stand structure that is resistant to stand replacing fires.
Contact Information
Name
Gary Whitson
Agency Name
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)
Job Title
Unit Forester
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
Sonora
Counties
Tuolumne
Regions
Countywide
Township
2N
Range
14E
Section
34
Base
MDBM
Other Location Info
The objective of the project is to reduce hazardous fuel loading and create a 500 ft wide shaded fuel break adjacent to Jamestown Road, the Sierra Meadows subdivision, the Lode Star Mobile Home Park, and residences along Sunshine Hill Road
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 4 §15304 Minor Alterations to Land
Reasons for 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/timberland, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, energy, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use planning, mineral resources, noise, populations and housing, public services, recreation, transportation/ traffic, utilities and service systems, or to wildfire. Documentation of the environmental review completed by the Department is kept on file at the Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit Headquarters in San Andreas.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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