Forest Service testing SEZ fuel reduction

NEWS RELEASE

Date: Sept 7, 2007

South Lake Tahoe CA. The USDA Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin
Management Unit will begin a demonstration project this month to monitor for the effectiveness of low-impact mechanical fuels reduction treatments in the Heavenly Valley Creek area. The project area consists of 23 acres of National Forest land near the intersection of Al Tahoe Blvd. and Pioneer Trail in South Lake Tahoe. The purpose of the project is to demonstrate low impact mechanical treatments in sensitive soil areas; reduce hazardous
fuels such as dead and down trees and fuel ladders like crowded small diameter trees; and to improve forest health by re-establishing more natural vegetation structure.

Reducing hazardous fuels along sensitive stream areas has been a
significant challenge. Local regulations have long restricted
mechanical fuels treatments in the “stream environment zones” (SEZ) using heavy equipment to prevent soil disturbance for water quality protection.

Regulations were modified in 2004, under conditions that low impact, innovative equipment be used.

Mechanical treatments usually involve different types of drive–in, wheeled or tracked vehicles that efficiently manipulate the trees and vegetation.

Over snow operations were used to reduce soil impacts. Except for rare winters with favorable snow pack as protection for soils, fuels reduction work has been done entirely by hand in SEZs. The demonstration project will monitor the effects of low impact equipment in sensitive soils in order to design treatments that effectively reduce hazardous fuels in a shorter period of time. The extensive planning process involved close collaboration with TRPA and Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board
since this was the first project of this type to be proposed in the
Lake Tahoe Basin. Due to concerns about soil impacts and erosion into Heavenly Valley Creek, an extensive, peer-reviewed monitoring plan was developed for this project.

During the Angora Fire, the heavily fuel filled Angora Creek SEZ burned with great intensity towards nearby homes. Although the Angora Fire involved and was significantly fueled by an untreated SEZ, this demonstration project was not prompted by the fire, according to Forest Service spokesperson Rex Norman. “This demonstration project has been in the planning stages long before the Angora Fire.” Norman said, “Our agency has been well aware of catastrophic wildfire risks associated with untreated SEZs, and this demo project is a step forward in addressing this
risk.” The area was chosen for a demonstration project utilizing the low impact “innovative technology” equipment.

This project will help answer some of the questions that exist for
managing other similar areas in the Lake Tahoe Basin and provide valuable information for the development of future SEZ projects. Forest Supervisor Terri Marceron stressed the importance of the project, saying, "Protection of soils in SEZs is essential to water quality, yet reducing the danger of fire spread from overgrown stream zones may be even more essential, as severe wildfire within stream zones can have far more serious impacts
to the clarity if Lake Tahoe." Marceron added, This project will help us find ways to meet these needs."

Quotes from agency staff:

"TRPA understands the urgent need for fuels reduction work in sensitive stream zones and we're pleased to be working with the Forest Service on this important project to help reduce the risk of another catastrophic wildfire at Lake Tahoe," --- Julie Regan, communications and Legislative Affairs Chief, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

"The LTBMU is implementing a rigorous soil quality monitoring program as part of the Heavenly SEZ Fuels Project. The goals of this program are to 1) ensure soil moisture conditions are suitable for mechanical equipment operation, prior to implementation 2) determine if and where to apply mitigation measures based on site specific measurements of soil cover
and soil infiltration capacity, prior to project completion, 3) provide a robust evaluation of post project impacts to soil and water quality as a result of utilizing low impact harvest technology within the SEZ types represented within the project area. The post implementation monitoring report will be made widely available, and is planned to be completed by the end of November." --Susan Norman, Adaptive Management Group
Leader, USFS, LTBMU

The project is expected to begin in early September 2007 and will last approximately two weeks.

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