USDA funds several Western projects to reduce wildfire risk
25 February 2023
Published by: https://www.hermistonherald.com
USA – The USDA will spend nearly $50 million on wildfire risk reduction, including several projects in the West.
The department, through the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership, will invest more than $48.6 million in the current fiscal year in projects that mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality, restore forest ecosystems and ultimately contribute to USDA efforts to combat climate change, an agency release said.
The department and its Natural Resources Conservation Service will fund projects, 14 of which are new, that bring together agricultural producers, forest landowners and National Forest lands. A goal is to use farm bill conservation programs and other authorities to improve forest health.
“The need for cross-boundary wildfire risk reduction work as part of our wildfire crisis strategy is more urgent than ever,” said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. These projects, across 21 landscapes in the West’s highest-risk fire sheds, “speak to our commitment to improve forest health and resiliency across the nation’s forests to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. We have long moved beyond wildfire seasons to fire years, with an annual average of 8 million acres burned since 2015.”
California
The Forest Health and Fire Resilient Rural Communities in Trinity County, third phase, aims to protect rural communities and natural resources. The work targets high-risk threats across boundaries between private and federal forest lands. It addresses threats created by the post-fire landscape that emerged following 2020 and 2021 fires. Improving water supply and quality and habitat for at-risk species in fire-impacted areas are among other goals. The site is within Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers national forests in Trinity County.
The fiscal-year request is for about $3.31 million. Partners are Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, North Coast Resource Conservation District Collaborative, Trinity County Board of Supervisors, Trinity County Collaborative Group, Trinity County Fire Safe Council, Trinity County Resource Conservation District, Trinity River Watershed Council, University of California Cooperative Extension, Watershed Research and Training Center, Weaverville Community Forest Steering Committee and Weaverville Volunteer Fire Department.
Oregon
The North Wasco All Lands Project intends to restore and promote resilience in fire-adapted ecosystems on the east slope of the Cascade Range. Work aims to restore the natural fire return cycle and other disturbance cycles through thinning, treating weeds, improving roads, managing vegetation, mastication and prescribed burning.
The project is designed to reduce fuel, thin overstocked stands and increase resilience to large fires. The site is within Mt. Hood National Forest in Hood River and Wasco counties.
The request is about $3.12 million. Partners are City of The Dalles, Office of the State Fire Marshal, state Department of Foresty, Department of Lands, Oregon State University Extension and Wasco County Forest Collaborative.
The Southern Blues Restoration Project includes fuel treatments to reduce fire risk to communities while improving forest and range land, and watershed resilience to address changes in climate and precipitation patterns. Work will include contacting and educating landowners about opportunities to create more fire-adapted landscapes.
It will increase supply for two mills and a post-and-pole plant. The site is within Malheur National Forest in Grant County.
The request is about $1.97 million. Partners are Bayer Corp., Blue Mountain Forest Partners, BLM, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, Grant County Community Action Team, Grant Soil and Water Conservation District, Jerome Natural Resource Consulting, state Department of Fish & Wildlife, state Department of Forestry and OSU Extension.
Idaho
The South Teton Valley Hazardous Fuels Removal Project in eastern Idaho aims to reduce fire intensity and the risk of crown fires while restoring fire-resistant forest conditions.
It is designed to complement existing hazardous fuels removal work in the wildland-urban intterface, reduce evacuation times and help landowners who have limited resources to treat fuels. The site is within the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in Bonneville and Teton counties.
The request is $636,000. Partners are the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, High Country Resource Conservation and Development, the state Department of Lands and Department of Fish and Game, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Teton County Emergency Management, Teton County Fire and Rescue and the Teton Land Trust.
