Murphy Ridge Fuel Break
Summary
SCH Number
2023090033
Public Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CAL FIRE)
Document Title
Murphy Ridge Fuel Break
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
9/5/2023
Document Description
The Murphy Ridge Fuel Break - Phase I project is a 131-acre project located on Murphy Ridge four miles Northeast of Covelo, California, in the southeastern quadrant of the Round Valley Indian Reservation. The project area includes 131 acres of tribal trust land. The objective is to create a shaded fuel break along the ridge and treat abandoned slash in a 3.6-mile control line created during the 2020 August Complex Fire. The fuel break and the fire suppression repair treatment will be located on Round Valley Indian Tribe (RVIT). The fire suppression repair treatment will be implemented using a masticator, a skidder, and a loader. Logs will be bucked and left on site, burned, or hauled offsite for non-commercial disposal. Operations in the shaded fuel break will be conducted by hand crews or machinery with mastication attachments. Larger live trees, (>10” DBH),with low overhanging limbs, will be pruned with a pole saw up to 14’ from the ground. Associated slash (limbs/tops <12” diameter) will be masticated or piled and burned. Dead/dying or hazard trees of any size that pose a safety hazard to roadways, people, or other infrastructure will be removed. This project includes long-term maintenance of fuel loading and hazard tree removal as necessary.
Contact Information
Name
Julie Rhoads
Agency Name
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)
Job Title
Forester I
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Counties
Mendocino
Regions
Countywide, Northern California
Total Acres
131
Township
23N
Range
12W
Section
10, 11
Base
MDBM
Other Location Info
T23N; R12W; Sections 10, 11, 13, 14, & 24; MDB&M
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Public Resources Code Section 4799.05(d)(1)
Reasons for Exemption
The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to prescribed fire, thinning, or fuel reduction projects undertaken on federal lands to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire that have been reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) if the primary role of a state or local agency is providing funding or staffing for those projects. The Murphy Ridge Fuel Break – Phase I project activities are included in the (TR4432b-P5 J51 540T) Murphy Ridge Fuel Break Bureau of Indian Affairs Categorical Exclusion signed on 04/05/2023.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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