National Fire Plan Success Story
Salyer/Hawkins Bar Community Protection Fuels Project
Lower Trinity Ranger District, Six Rivers National Forest
National Fire Plan - Fuels Reduction
2007
Project Description
Completing the final passes, a U.S. Forest Service crew works the fire to the county road.
Trinity County RCD crew poses in front of their thin, prune, and pile handiwork.
A fuel reduction project is being implemented around the communities of Salyer and Hawkins Bar in western Trinity County, California on the Lower Trinity Ranger District of the Six Rivers National Forest. Some of the observed and expected benefits of this project include hazardous fuel reduction, community protection, increased water yield, improved forage, increased local employment and general forest health improvement. Another benefit of this project is a fortified relationship between the Trinity County Fire Safe Council, Six Rivers National Forest, and Trinity County Resource Conservation District (RCD) through partnership and collaboration.
The tools and strategies used to integrate fuel treatments successfully across jurisdictional boundaries included mutual participation in community based fire protection planning and the development of cooperative arrangements between the Forest Service, local volunteer fire groups, and local natural resource management groups. Sponsorship for this project has been a joint effort with funds coming from the Forest Service hazardous fuels budget, Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 and additional funding from Forest Service fire budget.
Implementation Plan and Accomplishments to Date
The fuel reduction method is to thin, prune and pile understory fuels within a 200-ft. buffer along private property boundaries around the communities of Salyer and Hawkins Bar, followed by burning of those piles. Understory burning is then implemented within larger units that are bordered in part by these buffers. The Trinity County Resource Conservation District has accomplished much of the manual thinning, with understory burning undertaken by local Forest Service personnel.
Planning began several years ago with the incorporation of community recommendations and advice from local and regional agencies with fire management expertise. Implementation of this 900 acre project began in the spring of 2005. To date, 150 acres of thinning, pruning and piling vegetation has been completed and 350 acres of understory burning has been accomplished. Efforts will continue through 2009 by burning the understory of another 250 acres and manually treating 30 more acres of understory vegetation.
Contact: Paul Johnson, Fuels Specialist, prjohnson@fs.fed.us.