Feds giving Eldorado National Forest millions

The Eldorado National Forest has received $5.1 million in special supplemental funding this year to support efforts to reduce the threat of wildfire and the risk of insect and disease in the South Fork American River Watershed.

The 2016 supplemental funding will be used to accomplish work on five major multi-year, multi-phase projects:

• Fire Adapted 50 Project – A series of fuel breaks using an all lands approach to treat fuel across multiple jurisdictions in the Highway 50 corridor for community protection, emergency access and egress. This year’s work will include reducing fuel on National Forest System lands to create a 300 foot buffer on the north side of Highway 50. It will also support work by partners in the Sly Park area.
• Cleveland-Ice House Forest Health Project – Thinning of dense, overstocked plantations and neighboring natural stands which are at risk of loss to insect and disease and are highly susceptible to wildfire.
• King Fire Restoration Project – This year’s work in the SOFAR watershed will focus on removal of fire killed trees in strategic fire management zones for the purpose of controlling future wildfires.
• Wright’s Lake Recreation Area Fuels Reduction Project – Fuel reduction around developed areas and along roads to create safety corridors in an area that is heavily used for public recreation and includes 75 privately owned cabins.
• Caples Ecological Restoration Project – Fire control lines will be completed in preparation for the use of prescribed fire in the Caples Creek drainage. This drainage has not had substantial wildland fire occurrence for more than a century which has decreased biodiversity and created a build-up of hazardous fuels.
• The Pilliken Plantation Restoration Project, another major project in the watershed, will not require supplemental funding because it includes commercial timber sales that will generate revenue. This project also involves thinning dense stands which are at risk of loss to insect and disease and are highly susceptible to wildfire.