Independence Fuels Thinning and Forest Health Restoration (SNC 1234)
Summary
SCH Number
2020030349
Public Agency
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Document Title
Independence Fuels Thinning and Forest Health Restoration (SNC 1234)
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
3/10/2020
Document Description
The Sierra Nevada Conservancy would provide $619,482.00 in funding for forest thinning and fuel reduction treatments (mechanical and hand thinning) on 400 acres of federal land within the Tahoe National Forest, Sierraville Ranger District. The treatments would create a heterogeneous landscape that improves forest ecosystem resiliency, removes hazardous and concentrated fuels, and reduces the risk of catastrophic wildfire. This project would be a part of the broader effort to enhance forest/watershed health within the headwaters of the Truckee River Watershed.
Contact Information
Name
Jamie Sammut
Agency Name
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Name
Agency Name
Truckee River Watershed Council
Contact Types
Project Applicant
Location
Counties
Sierra
Other Location Info
Project sites located in the Tahoe National Forest, Sierraville Ranger District, east of SR 89. T20 R15 Sections 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 34, and 35; T19 R15 Section 11; and T20, R16 Sections23, 24, 25, 26, 34, and 35.
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Public Resources Code Section 4799.05(d)(1)
Reasons for Exemption
The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to prescribed fire, thinning, or fuel reduction projects undertaken on federal lands to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire that have been reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) if the primary role of a state or local agency is providing funding or staffing for those projects. The Sierra Nevada Conservancy would provide funding for fuel reduction on 400 acres of federal land within the Tahoe National Forest. The proposed activities were reviewed in their entirety under NEPA in the Middlin Project Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impacts (FONSI) and the Transition Project EA/FONSI. The final Decision Notice for the EA/FONSI documents were approved in 2012. In 2020, the US Forest Service reviewed the prior NEPA documents and certified that the NEPA analysis adequately addressed current site conditions and the environmental impacts of the project as currently proposed.