Taylorsville Community Defense Zone Implementation (SNC 1647)
Summary
SCH Number
2024030330
Public Agency
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Document Title
Taylorsville Community Defense Zone Implementation (SNC 1647)
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
3/11/2024
Document Description
The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) is funding the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment (SI) to implement the #1647 Taylorsville Community Defense Zone (TCDZ) Implementation project located in Plumas County within and adjacent to the community of Taylorsville. The SI will work with the private landowners to implement forest thinning and fuels reduction for a strategic shaded fuel break on the south side of the community of Taylorsville. Treatments will reduce the risk to the community during future wildfire events by creating a stand structure intended to moderate fire behavior and provide safe and effective opportunities for fire-suppression actions. The project will cut and remove trees to eliminate the vertical continuity of vegetative fuels and the horizontal continuity of tree crowns for the purpose of reducing flammable materials to reduce fire spread, duration, intensity, and ignition of tree crowns. Planned treatments include hand thinning and mechanical treatments across the approximately 300-acre footprint that will create conditions with low basal area and bulk crown density, low volumes of ladder fuels, discontinuous fuel beds, and a heterogenous, fire-resilient stand structure. The TCDZ will directly protect approximately 88 homes and 140 residents and increase the resilience of a critical portion of remaining green forest in Indian Valley, following the 2021 Dixie Fire.
Contact Information
Name
Mary Akens
Agency Name
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Job Title
Legal Counsel
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
Taylorsville
Counties
Plumas
Regions
Northern California
Other Location Info
Approximately 300 acres of forested private land on the south side of the community of Taylorsville, between the town and Plumas National Forest. MDB&M Township 26N, Range 10E, Sec 27, 34, 35.
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Cal.Code Regs.Tit.14 (CEQA Guidelines), section 15304; Minor Alterations to Land
Reasons for Exemption
CEQA Guidelines Section 15304, Class 4, provides that projects that consist of minor public or private alterations in the condition of land, water, and/or vegetation, which do not involve removal of mature, scenic trees except for forestry and agricultural purposes, are exempt for CEQA environmental documentation requirements, provided no exceptions apply. The minor land alterations proposed by the project involve hand and mechanical thinning across a 300-acre footprint to eliminate the vertical continuity of vegetative fuels and the horizontal continuity of tree crowns for the purpose of reducing flammable materials to reduce fire spread, duration, intensity, and ignition of tree crowns. All work will be implemented consistent with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection issued Forest Fire Prevention Exemption No. 2-23EX-00799-PLU under the Forest Practice Act, Cal. Code Regs. title 14, section 1038. The SNC reviewed the project and determined that the project is categorically exempt from the provisions of CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15304, Class 4, and none of the exceptions to the exemptions apply to the project.
County Clerk
Plumas
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.