SCH Number 2024110235

Project Info

Title

Low Gap Road Forest Resillience Project

Description

Low Gap Road, a county-maintained, open-to-the-public roadway west of Ukiah, California, is located on a strategic ridge at the junction of the upper reaches of the Big River, Navarro River, and upper Russian River basins in Mendocino County. Current conditions along this road are conducive to the spread of fire between watersheds, as most of the ridge-top stands are densely stocked with smaller diameter trees and dense underbrush. Invasive and non-native exotic species, as well as Douglas-fir encroachment, threaten true oak woodlands in portions of the ridgeline, which transitions from oak woodland and grassland in the east to mixed conifer forest in the west. This public road is an asset to firefighting as well as a liability, due to ignition risks. The community of Ukiah, and a number of outlying rural communities, including Comptche, benefit from the alternative route and from fire suppression opportunities provided by the ridgeline; however, current fuel loading and degraded road conditions could hamper safe ingress and egress in the event of a fire. Facilities including public schools, parks, and county offices are concentrated at the east end of Low Gap Road. These make Low Gap Road a key resource in defense of these assets. Additionally, the public schools would be a potentially useful staging areas for fire suppression resources, further enhancing the strategic value of this ridge system. The primary project objective is to create contiguous, fire-resilient forest conditions on a strategic ridge with the goal of protecting thousands of acres of forest land and improving public safety. The treatment will also benefit oak woodlands where it occurs within the project area through removal of encroaching conifers. The overall prescription is thinning from below to reduce fuels density and increase quadratic mean diameter in the treated areas. Conifers and brush will be removed via mechanical harvester, mastication, or hand removal, followed by in-stand pile burning and a 329 acre prescribed burn.

3 documents in project