Caldor Fire Restoration Project, Phase One (SNC #1516)
Summary
SCH Number
2023060175
Public Agency
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Document Title
Caldor Fire Restoration Project, Phase One (SNC #1516)
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
6/6/2023
Document Description
The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) would provide funding to treat a minimum of 450 acres of hazardous roadside vegetation to expedite priority restoration measures in high-severity burn areas on approximately 22,095 acres of Eldorado National Forest (ENF) land southeast of Pollock Pines. Funding supports the broader goal to treat an estimated 2,461 miles of hazard-tree removal along fire-impacted travel corridors in the project area. SNC funding will focus entirely on hazard-tree removal, biomass transportation, harvest inspection, and monitoring services. The project supports a year-round local workforce, enabling continued operations of wood-processing facilities while catalyzing new biomass market opportunities. Partnerships between the ENF, Great Basin Institute (GBI), members of the South Fork American River (SOFAR), and Healthy Eldorado Landscape Partnership (HELP) will ensure the necessary collaborative resources are in place to sustain fire recovery over the next 10 years.
Contact Information
Name
Mary Akens
Agency Name
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Job Title
Legal Counsel
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
Pollock Pines
Counties
El Dorado
Regions
Northern California
Other Location Info
The project footprint is within El Dorado County and encompasses the South Fork American River and Cosumnes River watersheds. Work will focus predominately on a priority segment of Bonetti Road and a small portion of corridor along Capps Reservoir Road near the communities of Grizzly Flat, Pollock Pines, and Kyburz.
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, reforestation, habitat restoration, thinning, or fuel-reduction projects undertaken on federal lands to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire
that have been reviewed under 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 conduct fuel reduction of hazardous roadside vegetation in high-severity burn areas on a minimum of 450 acres of ENF land. The proposed activities were reviewed in their entirety under NEPA in the Eldorado National Forest Roadside Hazard Tree Mitigation Project Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact, with a Decision Notice signed in April 2023.
County Clerk
El Dorado
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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