Yuba Watershed Forest and Fuels Project
BYLT-02

  1. Project Sponsor Contact Information

Lead Agency/Organization / Bear Yuba Land Trust
Name of Primary Contact(s) / Marty Coleman-Hunt
Mailing Address / 12183 Auburn Road, Grass Valley, CA 95949
Email Address /
Phone / 530-272-5994 x202
Project Partners/Collaborators / Yuba Watershed Protection & Fire Safe Council, Yuba County Water Agency, Tahoe National Forest, SYRCL, Camptonville Community Partnership
  1. General Project Information

Project Title / Yuba Watershed Forest and Fuels Project
Project Total Budget / $1,551,000
Project Funding Match / Component 1: $196,000
Component 2: $75,000
Component 3: $100,000
$371,000
Project Funding Request / Component 1: $630,000
Component 2: $300,000
Component 3: $250,000
$1,180,000
Can a detailed cost estimate be provided upon request? / Yes
Project Location: / Component 1: throughout Yuba County foothills
Component 2: Rice’s Crossing on Yuba River, near Dobbins
Component 3: Celestial Valley Rd, Camptonville
Latitude
Longitude
Could you provide a map of the project location including boundaries upon request? / Yes
County / Yuba
City/Community / Dobbins/Oregon House, Camptonville, Smartsville, Loma Rica, Brownsville
Watershed/subwatershed / Yuba and Feather
Groundwater Basin / Fractured Hard Rock Aquifer
Project Type / Planning
Restoration
Study/Assessment
Monitoring
  1. Project Description

The Yuba Watershed Forest and Fuels Project integrates local efforts to promote healthy forests, reduce risks from catastrophic wildfire, and protect water quality in Yuba County. The project consists of three components: 1) implementation of a recently updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for the Yuba foothills; 2) rehabilitation of 1,000 acres of forest landscape on the Yuba River; and 3) feasibility, design, engineering, and compliance studies for a multi-product forest biomass utilization campus in Camptonville.

The CWPP, scheduled to be completed in May 2014, is a comprehensive plan developed by the Yuba Watershed Protection and Fire Safe Council, with input from the public and from a diverse stakeholder group, including local fire districts, US Forest Service, BLM, CAL FIRE, Yuba County, and private timber companies. The plan recommends fuels treatments needed to protect communities and critical watershed resources from the risk of catastrophic wildfire and provide for safety during firefighting and evacuation. This project will implement recommended fuels treatments and provide public education on near-home vegetation and home construction that can decrease the risk of home loss during a wildfire.

The Yuba River forest rehabilitation project is proposed for 1,500 acres at Rice’s Crossing, just below New Bullard’s Bar Dam. Lands within the project site are managed by Bear Yuba Land Trust, Tahoe National Forest, and the Yuba County Water Agency. The project would address the negative impacts of recent wildfires and promote healthy forest management by 1) conducting a forest health assessment and tree inventory to establish management benchmarks; 2) completing a forest rehabilitation and soil stabilization plan, a Non-Industrial Timber Harvest Plan, and associated permits; and 3) funding recommended forest rehabilitation work.

The biomass utilization campus, or Forest Biomass Business Center (FBBC), is in planning for the former Sierra Mountain Mills site in Camptonville. The FBBC will consist of several co-located businesses that provide value-added markets for biomass produced during local hazard fuel reduction activities. This project will fund necessary project development components, such as feasibility studies, design and engineering studies, and environmental compliance.

For jobs created by all three components, preference will be given to nearby communities designated as Economically Disadvantaged.

  1. Project Rationale/Issues Statement

The project addresses the following identified regional issues:

Sediment Management: Catastrophic wildfires can greatly increase erosion rates and sediment flow into watercourses and reservoirs. Fuel reduction and forest rehabilitation planning and implementation would reduce the threat of wildfire and prevent associated sediment losses and water system contamination.

Forest Health: By implementing forest rehabilitation planning and landscape level fuels treatments, and creating value-added markets for forest biomass, this project would greatly enhance the stewardship of forests in the Yuba and Feather River watersheds. Healthy forests that are resilient to wildfires and the effects of climate change will protect water supply and quality.

Environmental Flows: Fuels treatments, forest rehabilitation, and biomass utilization will reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, thus ensuring maintenance of the quantity, timing, and quality of stream flows. Healthy, thriving forest ecosystems will also improve water quality and retention.

Invasive Species: The forest rehabilitation component will identify and implement invasive species management on 1,000 acres. Invasive species, such as scotch broom, will be managed to reduce their impacts on watershed health.

Climate Change: Healthy, resilient forests that are not overloaded with fuels will be better adapted to continue providing critical ecosystem services like protection of water supply and quality despite changing climate conditions.

  1. Goals/Objectives/PerformanceMetrics

Goals Addressed by the Project / Goal 1: Ensure adequate and reliable water supply that meets the diverse needs of the region
Goal 2: Protect, restore and enhance water quality for water users and in support of healthy watersheds
Goal 3: Preserve and restore watershed health and promote environmental stewardship
Goal 6: Address climate vulnerabilities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Goal 7: Promote equitable distribution of resources to disadvantaged communities and tribes across the region
Objectives Addressed by Project /
  • 1.3 - Protect and restore water supplies that support watershed health. This project will protect water supplies by reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, restoring forest health, and reducing sediment and nutrient inflows to streams and reservoirs.
  • 1.4 - Promote disaster preparedness and conservation planning efforts. Implementing the CWPP will allow communities to be prepared for wildfires and support local collaborative planning across the landscape by federal and private land owners. The forest rehabilitation component will support local conservation planning for newly protected critical watershed lands.
  • 2.1 - Protect and improve water quality by mitigating for urban, agricultural and wildland (sediment) run-off. Implementing the CWPP and the forest rehabilitation component will reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires which cause increased erosion and sediment deposition in water systems. The forest rehabilitation project will also mitigate for soil disturbances caused by past fires. The FBBC will facilitate future coordinated landscape scale fuels reduction and watershed protection work.
  • 2.4 - Protect and improve the water quality generated by healthy, forested watersheds. All three project components will protect water quality by reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire and reducing sediment transport to water courses and reservoirs.
  • 2.5 - Maintain and improve water quality required to restore and protect freshwater ecosystems, fisheries and groundwater-dependent habitat. See above.
  • 3.1 - Steward healthy forests through fire and fuels management, erosion control measures and wetland restoration. All three project components focus on stewardship of healthy forests through fire and fuels management. The forest rehabilitation project will directly address soil stabilization to mitigate for the effects of past fires.
  • 3.2 - Identify and manage for aquatic and terrestrial invasive species and their impacts on water supply infrastructure and watershed health. The forest rehabilitation component will identify and manage for terrestrial invasive species on 1,000 acres along the Yuba River.
  • 6.3 – Increase system flexibility and resiliency to adapt to climate variability. By implementing and facilitating fuels treatments, all three project components will increase the resiliency of watershed lands to adapt to climate variability. This variability will likely include an increased risk of catastrophic wildfire, drought, and higher average temperatures.
  • 6.4 – Promote alternative energy and energy efficiency throughout the region. One of the primary biomass utilization enterprises under consideration for the FBBC is a community-scale bioenergy plant that would produce electricity and heat from forest biomass that would otherwise be burned in open piles, resulting in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
  • 7.1 - Support DAC and tribal project development/ implementation activities by providing ongoing outreach, proposal and funding development assistance and training. The Forest Biomass Business Center is a DAC-led development project that would benefit Camptonville and other surrounding DACs. This project would provide critical assistance with proposal development and project planning.
  • 7.2 - Prioritize ongoing participation of DACs and tribes in the Regional Water Management Group. This project is a collaboration between many stakeholders, several of which (e.g., YWP&FSC, Camptonville Community Partnerhsip) are representative of local DACs. Including this project in the Yuba IRWM Plan will increase DAC participation in the RWMG.

What performance metrics will be used to demonstrate that objectives are being met? Wherever possible, provide a quantitative measurement reflecting successful project outcomes. /
  • 1.3 - Protect and restore water supplies that support watershed health.
-Water quality and water flow monitoring
  • 1.4 - Promote disaster preparedness and conservation planning efforts.
-Number of CWPP fuels treatment projects implemented
-Number of community meetings, and other community outreach venues, about CWPP
-Increased safety during wildfire evacuations, miles of road with fuel reduction.
-Forest health assessment, tree inventory, forest rehabilitation, and soil stabilization plans completed for Rice’s Crossing
  • 2.1 - Protect and improve water quality by mitigating for urban, agricultural and wildland (sediment) run-off.
-Increased water quality through monitoring and sampling
-Decreased sediment load
  • 2.4 - Protect and improve the water quality generated by healthy, forested watersheds.
-Number of fire and fuels management, erosion control and forest restoration projects implemented
-Linear feet of streambank protected or restored
-Mass pollutant reduced per year
-Acres of land treated or improved
  • 2.5 - Maintain and improve water quality required to restore and protect freshwater ecosystems, fisheries and groundwater-dependent habitat.
-Linear feet of stream bank protected or restored
-Number and frequency of water quality monitoring and sampling
-Acres of riparian habitat protected or restored
-Number of collaboratively developed plans and assessments
  • 3.1 - Steward healthy forests through fire and fuels management, erosion control measures and wetland restoration.
-Acres of land treated or improved
-Linear feet of stream bank protected or restored
-Acres of riparian habitat protected or restored
-Number of projects developed or implemented
-Increased monitoring, sampling and data analysis
  • 3.2 - Identify and manage for aquatic and terrestrial invasive species and their impacts on water supply infrastructure and watershed health.
-Increased monitoring, sampling and data analysis
-Number of collaborative plans and assessments developed
-Number of acres treated or improved
-Acres of riparian habitat protected or restored
-Number of project implemented
  • 6.3 – Increase system flexibility and resiliency to adapt to climate variability.
-Reduced understory fuel loads in project areas, limiting wildfires to ground fires not crown fires.
  • 6.4 – Promote alternative energy and energy efficiency throughout the region.
-MW of energy produced from forest biomass
  • 7.1 - Support DAC and tribal project development/ implementation activities by providing ongoing outreach, proposal and funding development assistance and training.
-Number and diversity of people reached
-Number of DACs actively participating on the RWMG
  • 7.2 - Prioritize ongoing participation of DACs and tribes in the Regional Water Management Group.
-Number of projects developed or implemented
-Number and diversity of people reached
-Number of collaboratively developed plans and assessments
-Percent of planning efforts resulting in project implementation
-Number of trainings conducted
  1. Resource Management Strategies

Improve Water Quality
Pollution Prevention / This project will manage erosion and sedimentation through forest management.
Practice Natural Resources Stewardship
Ecosystem Restoration / This project will restore impaired ecosystems by removing excessive fuel loading, rehabilitating forest lands, reducing erosion, and managing invasive species.
Forest Management / See above.
Land Use Planning and Management / This project will fund implementation of one collaboratively developed management plan (Yuba foothills CWPP) and will fund the development of several other land use plans related to Rice’s Crossing on the Yuba River.
Watershed Management / This project will fund assessment, restoration, management and monitoring of water quality in the Yuba and Feather River watersheds.
  1. Statewide Priorities

Climate Change Response Actions

  • Adaptation to Climate Change: Establish migration corridors, re-establish river-floodplain, hydrologic continuity, re-introduce anadromous fish populations to upper watersheds, enhance and protect upper watershed forests and meadow systems

Expand Environmental Stewardship

  • Expand environmental stewardship to protect and enhance the environment by improving watershed, floodplain, and instream functions and to sustain water and flood management ecosystems

Ensure Equitable Distribution of Benefits

  • Increase the participation of small and disadvantaged communities in the IRWM process
  • Develop multi-benefit projects with consideration of affected disadvantaged communities and vulnerable populations

Climate Change Adaptation

Implementation and facilitation of fuels management projects in the region, and comprehensive forest rehabilitation and planning efforts at critical watershed sites, will assist the region in adapting to multiple predicted effects of climate change. By reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires and mitigating the effects of past fires, this integrated project will ensure that soil integrity remains intact, allowing for better groundwater storage and less precipitation runoff. A healthier conifer canopy in the region will sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

For the forest rehabilitation component at Rice’s Crossing, a healthier, more diverse conifer forest and oak woodland will support resident and migratory animal species in an important foothills transition zone. According to a 2003 Timber Harvest Plan for this site, the forest here has a Class I soil productivity class, which is the highest quality resulting in very high annual average timber growth. This land is large in scale and has the potential to offer greater than normal benefits to offset the effects of climate change compared to similarly sized tracts of land.

GHG Mitigation and Emissions Reduction

This project offsets GHG emissions through prevention of catastrophic fire and through ensuring greater carbon sequestration.

Project implementation will be conducted in a way to minimize GHG emissions to the degree possible. A description of GHG emissions related impacts is further described in xx appendix.

  1. Project Status and Schedule

Project Stage / Description of Activities in Each Project Stage / Planned/Actual Start Date / Planned/Actual Completion Date
Planning /
  • Community Wildfire Protection Plan
  • Forest rehabilitation at Rice’s Crossing
  • Forest Biomass Business Center
/ November 2013
TBD
Started in 2010, ongoing / May 2014
TBD
TBD
Design /
  • Community Wildfire Protection Plan
/ November 2013 / May 2014
Environmental Documentation (CEQA/NEPA) / CEQA is required / Awaiting funding
Permitting / Non-Industrial Timber Harvest Plan (NITHP) / Awaiting funding
Tribal Consultation (if not applicable, indicate by N/A) / Tribal consultant will be encompassed in the NITHP process / Awaiting funding
Construction/
Implementation / 1) implementation of a recently updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for the Yuba foothills; 2) rehabilitation of 1,000 acres of forest landscape on the Yuba River; and 3) feasibility, design, engineering, and compliance studies for a multi-product forest biomass utilization campus in Camptonville / Awaiting funding
  1. Project Technical Feasibility

  1. List the water planning documents that specifically identify this project.

  1. List the adopted planning documents the proposed project is consistent with (e.g., General Plans, UWMPs, GWMPs, Water Master Plans, Habitat Conservation Plans, etc.)
/
  • Yuba Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

  1. List technical reports and studies supporting the feasibility of this project.
/
  • Rice’s Crossing Timber Harvest Plan, 2003
  • Project Carbon Accounting – Rice’s Crossing, 2014
  • Yuba Foothills Biomass Feasibility Study, 2010

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