Berry Creek Fuels Reduction Project
Summary
SCH Number
2025020985
Public Agency
Butte County
Document Title
Berry Creek Fuels Reduction Project
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
2/26/2025
Document Description
The Berry Creek Fuels Reduction Project is a vegetation management plan designed to reduce the risk of wildfire and benefit forest health. Berry Creek is a Wildland Urban Interface (WU!) community where the strategic management and control ofwildland vegetation is essential to the health and safety of the community. The project seeks to protect the community of Berry Creek and east Oroville, including infrastructure and forest resources within the WU! from wildfires; implement vegetation prescriptions to reduce fire hazard and intensity, improve tree growth, and increase forest resiliency and watershed health; and implement vegetation prescriptions to reduce the rate of spread, duration, intensity, and ignition of tree crowns. The vast majority of the project area is located in the Very High Fire Hazard Sel.€rity Zone in the State Responsibility Area (SRA), with a few portions of Moderate and High Fire Hazard Severity Zone in the SRA, and portions in the Federal Responsibility Area (FRA). This project involves the clearing of brush, small trees (10 inches and less diameter at breast height), and dead hazard trees (15 inches and less diameter at breast height) which pose a risk to public safety may be felled and masticated or chipped, to reduce the existing fire hazard for this area. The vegetation management treatments include hand-cutting and piling, hand cutting and chipping, lop and scatter, mechanical mastication, prescribed fire, goat grazing, and herbicide treatment to be applied in accordance with a licensed Pest Control Advisor's Chemical Use Recommendation The fuel reduction methods used will depend on location, facility access, slope, and cultural resource boundaries. Hand cutting and lop and scatter or pile burning will be done in areas of steep slope. Pile burning will not occur within 25 feet of stream zones, in special status plant areas, or cultural resource boundaries. Chipping machines will be used near structures and in areas where the slope allows access , and chips will not be blown into stream zones , special status plant areas, or cultural resource boundaries. Mechanical mastication will be designated in areas less than 50% slope where accessibility from existing roads is possible, and will not take place in stream buffer zones, cultural resource boundaries , or special status plant buffers. Prescribed fire will be used in areas of light amount of ladder fuels or as a follow up maintenance treatment in areas. Goat grazing will be used as an initial treatment in areas with light amounts of ladder fuels or as a follow up (maintenance) treatment. Herbicide treatment will be used as follow up maintenance in areas where shrubs, brush, and invasive species have been treated initially with either mastication or hand cutting. Herbicides will not take place in stream buffer zones or special status plant buffers . A botanical survey shall be conducted prior to operations to determine if special status species are in the project area. If Special Status species are identified, a 25-foot buffer (EEZ) shall be placed around the species . No heavy equipment, pile burning, prescribed fire, or herbicide treatment shall take place within the buffer. The Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle was identified on CNDDB in the 9 quad scoping search. Where the project area is below 3000 feet, a survey for Sambucas (Elderberry ) species shall be conducted prior to operations. If Sambucas species are present and are smaller in diameter than 1 inch, a 25-foot buffer (EEZ) shall be placed around the species. No hea-.,y equipment, pile burning, prescribed fire or herbicide treatment shall take place within the buffer.
Contact Information
Name
Kamela N Loeser
Agency Name
Butte County
Job Title
Director Water and Resource Conservation
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Name
Taylor Nilsson
Agency Name
Butte County Fire Safe Council
Job Title
Executive Director
Contact Types
Project Applicant
Phone
Location
Cities
Berry Creek
Counties
Butte
Regions
Northern California
Total Acres
42,215
Other Location Info
The project area of approximately 42,215 acres is located northeast of Oroville, in the Sierra Nevada foothills , with elevations ranging from 840 feet to 3850 feet. It is bounded on the south and west by Lake Oroville. The eastern side extends to the edge of the canyon of the Middle Fork of the Feather River and the northern side extends to encompass Mountain House to Mosquito Ridge and continues west to French Creek.
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
15304 Minor Alterations to Land
Reasons for Exemption
The project is a fuel management activity that consists of minor treatments to land and vegetation in the form of hand-cutting and piling, hand cutting and chipping, lop and scatter or pile burning, mechanical mastication, prescribed fire, goat grazing, and herbicide treatment of brush, small trees, and dead hazard trees which pose a risk to public safety. A botanical survey shall be conducted prior to operations to determine if special status species are in the project area. If special status species are identified, measures will be taken to protect them, including placing a 25-foot buffer around the species and no heavy equipment, pile burning, prescribed fire, or herbicide treatment shall take place within the buffer. The activities do not result in the taking of endangered, rare, or threatened plant or animal species, or sedimentation to surface waters.
County Clerk
Butte
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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