Black Springs Restoration Project Amendment (SNC #1091)
Summary
SCH Number
2020060161
Public Agency
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Document Title
Black Springs Restoration Project Amendment (SNC #1091)
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
6/9/2020
Present Land Use
National Forest
Document Description
In March 2019, SNC awarded $1,000,000 to the Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority for the Black Springs Restoration project to implement forest fuels reduction treatments to reduce fire intensity, severity, and risk on 825 acres in the Calaveras Ranger District. SNC filed an NOD as responsible agency on UMRWA's IS/MND (SCH201909025). SNC is now amending the agreement to include fuels reduction work on up to 438 acres of overgrown pine plantations on the nearby West Calaveras Thin project. The purpose of the project is to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire and enhance the general health and resiliency of forest stands to insect, diseases, and drought-related mortality. Activities include mechanical thinning, hand thinning, piling and/or lopping, and mastication of small trees and brush.
Contact Information
Name
Jamie Sammut
Agency Name
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Name
Agency Name
Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority (UMRWA)
Contact Types
Project Applicant
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Between Arnold and Bear Valley
Counties
Calaveras
Regions
Northern California
Cross Streets
Winton Road
State Highways
Highway 4
Other Location Info
Both areas are in Eastern Calaveras County on Stanislaus National Forest Lands. Black Springs is centered 12mi NE of Arnold and SW of Bear Valley along Hwy4 just W of Ganns: 38.400011, -120.207351. West Calaveras Thin Project is centered about
5mi E of West Point, NE of Arnold, and W of Bear Valley along Winton Rd: 38.413, -120.187.
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
PRC Section 4799.05(d)(1)
Reasons for Exemption
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 for those projects. All West Calaveras Thin project activities are included in the The West Calaveras Thin Plantation Health Environmental Assessment, Decision Notice, and Finding of No Significant Impact was signed in 2014 and updated in 2019. All Black Springs project activities are included in the Hemlock Landscape Environmental Assessment, Decision Notice, and Finding of No Significant Impact signed in 2016.