Eucalyptus Grove Fuel Reduction and Grassland Broadcast Burn - Rumsey, CA

Eucalyptus Grove Fuel Reduction and Grassland Broadcast Burn - Rumsey, CA

This prescribed fire and fuels reduction and project is part of a larger Rumsey Buffer project around the town of Rumsey, CA. The project site contains a large and dense non-native eucalyptus grove and an adjacent open oak shrubland/grassland, totaling approximately 25 acres. To manage fuels, Yolo County Resource Conservation District, in partnership with the CAL FIRE Brooks station staff and local fire agencies, will implement a low-intensity broadcast burn in the grassland area and will thin the eucalyptus grove to open up the canopy and create vertical distance between trees. Prescribed Fire in Annual Grassland: The broadcast burn is expected to occur in late spring or early summer 2025 (depending on ideal burn conditions) and may re-occur in the following season to adequately address the invasive weed presence. The 15-acre burn unit will be designed with the goal of managing invasive weeds/non-native annual grasses and yellow starthistle (Centaurea so/stitialis) to improve conditions for native grasses and other grassland species. A broader goal for the burn will be improving community wildfire resilience through raised awareness and training about prescribed fire as a land management tool. Historically, this grassland area was primarily tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) and was treated by the landowner and other entities with herbicides, then the dead plants were piled and burned, and the site was disked and seeded with native grasses. Although it was seeded with native grasses in 2007, most of the species' composition of the grassland area is non-native annual grasses and thistles. To promote biodiversity as well as further expand the Rumsey Buffer project, the Yolo County RCD will introduce a low-intensity broadcast burn, as outlined by a Burn Plan that will be prepared under the guidance and reviewed by a California State Certified Burn Boss. Low to moderate intensity fire results in levels of disturbance that are beneficial to California native ecosystems and the species that comprise them. Any trees nearby the project boundary are not expected to be impacted by low-intensity broadcast burning. The burn unit's containment lines will be existing disk lines created by the landowner and large mowed strips around the perimeter of the unit. Trained staff from Yolo County RCD will prepare CAL FIRE burn permits and Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District permitting and will implement the burn alongside local fire protection districts and local community members. Fuels Reduction of Eucalyptus Grove: Thinning of the eucalyptus grove will occur in the fall or early winter season of 2025 (or in subsequent years), to avoid nesting bird season and bat pup season. Eucalyptus trees are non-native, weedy trees with bark and oils that are highly flammable. This grove poses a risk to the town of Rumsey, CA and reducing fuels in the grove will reduce the likelihood of catastrophic wildfire. Thinning and reduction of ladder fuels in the eucalyptus grove will be performed by CAL FIRE. Felling of trees will be minimal and any removed trees will be smaller than twelve inches in diameter at breast height (DBH). Stumps of cut eucalyptus trees will immediately be treated with herbicide by Yolo County RCD staff, certified by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Yolo County RCD or other qualified operator will be on-site to operate a chipper to chip any fuels. The chipper will be parked on the solid ground (gravel driveway) and fuels and small trees will be dragged or moved to the chipper. A Qualified Biologist with experience in conducting planning-level and species-specific surveys in the area, conducted a biological reconnaissance survey at the project site. Based on the results of the biological survey of both units, the project will not cause significant adverse impact to special status species with likelihood to occur near the project site.

Rumsey, CA

Yolo

Unincorporated

Yolo