Input sought on fuel management
Mendocino National Forest staff are seeking input on a proposed multiphase, forest-wide prescribed fire and fuels management strategy. The project would use low intensity fires ignited under controlled conditions, along with manual and possibly mechanical removal methods to reduce debris and vegetation that could fuel more extreme wildfires in the future. Comments are due by May 8.
The public is invited to attend one of two virtual open houses on April 20 to learn more about the project and to ask questions. The first meeting is from 3-4 p.m. via Microsoft Teams at http://bit.ly/RxFire1. A call-in only option is also available at 202650-0123 (conference ID: 920 502 883#).
The second meeting is from 7-8 p.m. via Microsoft Teams at http://bit. ly/RxFire2. A call-in only option is also available at 202-650-0123 (conference ID: 312 405 752#). Both meetings will be identical in content and format.
The Mendocino Prescribed Fire and Fuels Management Project would allow for a landscape-scale environmental analysis for the explicit purpose of prescribed burning and fuel-reduction treatments across the entire forest, excluding designated wilderness areas. This would afford additional opportunities for the Mendocino National Forest to treat more acres in a timely fashion by taking advantage of geographic and seasonal conditions, while avoiding delays and inefficiencies associated with developing individualized, smaller-scale proposals.
Reducing the buildup of hazardous fuels supports forest officials’ goals of promoting healthier, more resilient forest stands.
The project also includes an alternative proposal to use mechanical methods, in addition to manual treatments, to remove vegetation or thin dense stands of trees in combination with prescribed fire. A project description and maps can be found online at https:// go.usa.gov/xHC52.
The Mendocino National Forest consists of 913,306 acres along Northern California’s coastal range. The forest is headquartered in Willows and maintains district offices in the communities of Covelo and Upper Lake. More information is available at www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino.