SCH Number 2023020216

Project Info

Title

Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park Prescribed Fire and Forest Management Program draft IS/MND

Description

In 2021, the California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) received funding from the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Package in the 2022/2023 state budget to develop a strategic and programmatic Prescribed Fire and Forest Management Program at Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park (Malakoff). The proposed forest management effort at Malakoff will treat approximately 1,866 acres of high-risk parkland including a Public Safety and Historic Core Protection Zone and use prescribed fire to conduct understory burning in new and historic burn plots. The entirety of Malakoff lies within an historic district with significant cultural resources dating back to before California’s gold rush era. These actions will not only protect irreplaceable historic and prehistoric resources and park staff but will also reduce wildfire hazards along the San Juan Ridge and populated areas of western Nevada County. This forest management program directly supports Governor Newsom’s 2021 California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan which calls for increased use of prescribed fire to restore ecosystem function for long-term forest health and resilience. This stewardship effort also supports the mission of California State Parks to provide for the health, inspiration, and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state's extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation.

2 documents in project