Dorrington/Camp Connell HOAs Common Area Fuel Reduction Program
Summary
SCH Number
2023080647
Public Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CAL FIRE)
Document Title
Dorrington/Camp Connell HOAs Common Area Fuel Reduction Program
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
8/25/2023
Document Description
This project will reduce hazardous fuel loading in Homeowners Associations (HOA) common areas in Dorrington and Camp Connell. The project will remove dead trees, surface fuels and ladder fuels to create a shaded fuel break condition within HOA common areas. The HOA common areas consist of three primary units and four small units that are less than one acre each. The project area is approximately 36 acres in size. Vegetation would best be described as Sierra Mixed Conifer. The project area ranges from approximately 4,700 feet to 5,200 feet in elevation. 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. Masticated or chipped material will be left on site. 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 8 to 10-feet above ground level. Dead trees of any size may be felled and chipped, piled and burned, masticated, or removed from the site and taken to an end use facility such as a biomass plant. A variety of track laying tractors or rubber-tired skidders could be used to remove dead logs from the site. The intent of the operation is to eliminate the vertical and horizontal continuity of understory fuels, surface fuels, and crown fuels to create a shaded fuel break within the communities of Dorrington and Camp Connell that will minimize fire behavior in the event of a fire.
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
Counties
Calaveras
Regions
Countywide, Southern California
Total Acres
36
Township
5N
Range
15E
Section
12, 13
Base
MDBM
Other Location Info
T5N, R15E Sections 12 &13, T5N, R16E, Section 7, MDBM
Other Information
This project will reduce hazardous fuel loading in Homeowners Associations (HOA) common areas in Dorrington and Camp Connell
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 4 §15304 Minor Alterations to Land
Reasons for Exemption
This project fits under portions of 15304- Minor Alterations to Land. The project will consist of removing dead trees, surface and ladder fuels to create a shaded fuel break condition. The project is located in an urban interface area. The project will create an open and park like condition. The project will not involve the removal of mature or scenic trees. Stand health will be improved by removing dead, dying, and suppressed trees and brush, and increasing growing space for mature, healthy dominant and co-dominant trees. Sensitive species will not be impacted by the proposed project. The project was designed to avoid adverse impacts to watercourses. Mastication and chipping will leave a layer of organic material that will provide for excellent erosion control. The project was carefully designed to avoid adverse impacts to archaeological resources. The project was designed to reduce hazardous fuel loading in a strategic location that will make the community more resilient regarding wildfires.
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
Disclaimer: The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these documents. To obtain an attachment in a different format, please contact the lead agency at the contact information listed above. You may also contact the OPR via email at state.clearinghouse@opr.ca.gov or via phone at (916) 445-0613. For more information, please visit OPR’s Accessibility Site.