Millions To Aid Mother Lode With Forest Health

Susanville, CA – Ten counties including Tuolumne, Calaveras and Mariposa will all get a piece of a 3.2 million dollar pie being dished out by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) Governing Board.

The grants will target tree mortality, reducing wildfire risk, forest restoration and watershed health in the Sierra Nevada region. This is the third time funding has been awarded from the SNC to counties through Proposition 1, The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014.

The conservancy provided these details on the projects approved for funding in the Mother Lode:

• Tuolumne County – Long Gulch Watershed Enhancement Plan, $75,000: This grant to the Mother Lode Land Trust will complete a Watershed Enhancement Plan, including a Nonindustrial Timber Management Plan, on the 575-acre Long Gulch Ranch Preserve that is owned by the Mother Lode Land Trust and has experienced extensive tree mortality due to drought and Pine Bark Beetle infestations. The property is located near the community of Groveland in Tuolumne County, and the project area seasonally feeds water into Pine Mountain Lake, which supplies drinking water and recreational opportunities to the Pine Mountain Lake community.
• Calaveras County – South Fork Mokelumne River Watershed Restoration Project, $74,085: This grant awarded to Calaveras Healthy Forests Impact Product Solutions (CHIPS) will complete the analysis and surveys required to complete NEPA and CEQA for a future on-the-ground fuels treatment project. Prompted by the Butte Fire that burned more than 11,000 acres in the Mokelumne Community Forest, and overstocked conditions that include insect-killed trees, this project covers 912 acres of watershed on both sides of the South Fork Mokelumne River
• Mariposa County – Clarks Valley Wildfire Reduction Project, $419,359: This grant awarded to the Sierra Foothill Conservancy will treat 175 acres by removing conifers that have died as a result of drought and Bark Beetle infestation. Located near the community of Jerseydale in Mariposa County, the 175-acre project area was selected as a strategic zone within the Wildland Urban Interface that will serve as a buffer between private and public land, help protect the community of Jerseydale, improve water quality in Snow Creek and the Chowchilla River and Merced River watersheds, and help restore habitat for the endangered Great Grey Owl.