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National Fire Plan Success Story

Tionesta WUI Fuels and Plantation Management Biomass Project
Doublehead Ranger District, Modoc National Forest
National Fire Plan - Fuels Reduction / Woody Biomass Utilization
2005 - 2008

The Tionesta WUI Fuels and Plantation Management Biomass Project is located on the Doublehead Ranger District of the Modoc National Forest near the rural community of Tionesta approximately 30 miles south of Tulelake, California.

Tionesta is surrounded by public and private ownership of pine plantations and stands with heavy fuel ladders. Between 1924 and 2003, fires consumed over 100,000 acres of private and federal land in this area. Benefits of the project include 9,600 acres of hazardous fuel reduction within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) surrounding the community of Tionesta generating approximately 65,000 tons of biomass for the local Big Valley Power biomass power plant.

Fuel treatment will be accomplished through award of biomass sales. Cal Fire and Modoc National Forest personnel will implement fuel break treatments to include juniper removal, shrub mowing, pruning, piling, and burning.

Project partners include North Cal-Neva RC&D, Modoc Fire Safe Council, W.M. Beaty and Associates, Inc., Modoc County, Modoc National Forest, and Cal Fire. Through this project, the partners hope to meet the current demand for wood fuel, support the expansion of the biomass power industry in Modoc County, diversify and enhance the rural economic base, sustain and expand the local biomass-to-energy industry infrastructure, increase the economic efficiency and accelerate planned fuels treatment activities, and protect over 8,000 acres of NFS and private plantations valued at over $5,000,000.

The project began in July 2005. Currently, 8,079 acres are thinned and 67,900 tons of biomass provided for power generation. The project will be completed by December 2008.

Contact: Dina McElwain at 530-233-8723 or dmcelwain@fs.fed.us for more information.