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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard Correspondence - FW_ Feather Falls Trail From:Paulsen, Shaina To:Alpert, Bruce;Bennett, Robin;Clerk of the Board;Connelly, Bill;Cook, Holly;Cook, Robin;Hironimus, Patrizia; Kimmelshue, Tod;Lucero, Debra;Paulsen, Shaina;Pickett, Andy;Reaster, Kayla;Ring, Brian;Ritter, Tami; Sweeney, Kathleen;Teeter, Doug Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Feather Falls Trail Date:Wednesday, October 13, 2021 11:39:41 AM Attachments:image001.png image002.png image003.png image004.png 5.01 BCRCD Feather Falls Trail Project_Letter of Support.pdf 5.01 Feather Falls Trail Project - ButteCountyBOS.docx 5.01CalWild Article20210521.pdf 5.01MooretownChairman.pdf 5.01SFL Article20210609.docx 5.01SPI_Feather Falls Trailhead Salvage Project.pdf 5.01UC Davis Brief - FRRD Feather Falls.pdf PNF Feather Falls Recreation Area Closures.pdf Since this was submitted after the meeting it will be considered Board Correspondence. Please see attached. Shaina Paulsen Associate Clerk of The Board Butte County Administration 25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965 T: 530.552.3304 | F: 530.538.7120 From: Davis, Clay -FS <clay.davis@usda.gov> Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2021 10:58 AM To: Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net> Cc: Simmons, Katie <KSimmons@buttecounty.net>; Brillenz, David -FS <david.brillenz@usda.gov> Subject: Feather Falls Trail ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening .. attachments, clicking on links, or replying. I am so sorry. I had a medical scare this weekend and have been in hospital until late yesterday. I know the BOS have already met, but if anyone has questions here is our public comments. Clay R. Davis District Planner Forest Service Plumas National Forest, Feather River Ranger District p: 530-532-8940 clay.davis@usda.gov 875 Mitchell Avenue Oroville, CA 95965 www.fs.fed.us Caring for the land and serving people This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately. Butte County Resource Conservation District 150 Chuck Yeager Way, Suite A Oroville, CA 95965 October 11, 2021 Butte County Board of Supervisors 25 County Center Drive Oroville, CA 95965 RE: Agenda Item 5.01- ARPA Proposal Support for Feather Falls Trail Project Board of Supervisors, The Butte County Resource Conservation District is writing to request your support for the American Rescue Plan Act proposal for the Feather Falls Trail Project. Abating hazardous trees post-fire along the trail is a first step in the process and must occur before rebuilding the trailhead, trail, and observation platform. The Feather Falls Trail is a Butte County treasure and tribally significant area. Having the trail rebuilt post fire will allow for residents and visitors to return. This project will play a significant role in building a stronger, more equitable economy following impacts from the COVID pandemic. The Butte County Resource Conservation District looks forward to collaborating with the Forest Service and partners to assist with the reopening of this Butte County treasured resource. Thank you for your consideration of ARPA funding to support The Feather Falls Trail Project. Sincerely, Thad Walker District Manager- BCRCD United StatesForestPlumasFeather River Ranger District Department ofServiceNational875 Mitchell Avenue AgricultureForestOroville, CA 95965-4699 (530) 534-7984 Text (TDD) (530) 534-6500 Voice File Code: 1560 Date: October 8, 2021 Subject: 5.01American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) ProposalFeather Falls Trail To: Butte County Board of Supervisors Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the importance of the Feather Falls project and the impact that ARPA funding would have on successful restoration of this major Butte County recreation destinationincluding the 7.3 miles loop trail to Feather Falls the sixth highest (640- feet) waterfall in the nation.Due to extensive fire damage the Feather Falls trail, campground, and overlook remain closed for purposes of public safety. The wide variety of parties interested in the project demonstrate the importance of Feather Falls locally and throughout California and beyond. On May 13, 2021 FRRD led a site visit with representatives of Mooretown Rancheria of the Maidu Indians of California(Mooretown), California Wilderness Coalition (CalWild),Sierra Forest Legacy (SFL), Friends of Plumas Wilderness, Butte County Supervisor Debra Lucero, Sierra Pacific Industries(SPI), J.W. Bamford Inc., Butte County Department of Development Services, Butte County Forest Advisory Committee, Butte County Fire Safe Council, ForbestownRidge Fire Safe Council, CSU Chico, UC Davis, the Plumas National Forest Supervisor’s Office, and the Pacific Southwest (PSW) Research Station to discuss the project. The project has generated letter of support from neighboring SPI. The site visit led to articles featuring the project in publications of CalWild and SFLas well as proposed research from Derek Young, a research ecologist from UC Davis. The ForestServiceis developing a master stewardship agreement and project specific agreement with Mooretown. Mooretown’s Tribal Council has committed $100,000 to project safety as well as cultural and botanical surveys and monitoring. Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) has accepted a concept proposal and asked Mooretown Rancheria to submit a full proposal for funding parts of the project planning and implementation. The Forest Service has secured Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) emergency funding for repairs and restoration of the trail including the 3 bridges and scenic overlook. The National Forests Foundation has donated seedling purchases. The Forest Service continues to commit appropriated dollars, retained receipts, and other trust funds to the restoration for Feather Falls. The continuing pandemic has shown how important our outdoor spaces are for people to safely recreate and maintain their mental, physical, and emotional health and resilience. Parks and public lands are seeing some of their highest usage in modern times while we lose access and resources to climate driven mega-fires. Challenges like the ones we have experiencedin the last few years can appear so large in scale that we become numb to the opportunity to work together to move towards a more healthy, sustainable natural environment. The health of these places is essential not only to our county and state’s culture and economy, but also for safeguarding Caring for the Land and Serving People Printed on Recycled Paper residents against climate stress and making healthy lifestyle more equitably accessible. And providing safe spaces to recreate and restore while protecting ourselves and others from disease. Please feel free to contact me at clay.davis@usda.govif you have any questions. Sincerely, CLAY R. DAVIS, District Planner After the Fire:Feather Falls Post-North Complex Fire Salvage and Rehabilitation Projects The Feather Falls loop trail in the Plumas National Forest (PNF) has been one of Northern California's most popular recreation destinations, known internationally as a hike worth the time and effort required to get an in-person view of one of California'smost spectacular waterfalls. Last year's North Complex Fire consumed all vegetation along the approximately 8-mile trail system, trailhead parking area, and associated campgrounds. Earlier this year, the PNF's Feather River Ranger District (FRRD) proposed a salvage, hazard abatement, and reforestation project to begin recovery of their District's most popular recreation area. The FRRD faces multiple, interdependent challenges at Feather Falls: they must restore safe access to the trail and trailhead parking and camping grounds, and they want to recover what commercial value remains from salvaged material to help cover overall project costs; and they must do both while successfully managing the ecological rehabilitation of this corner of national forest following the high-severity fire event. Image above: Feather Falls trail, Plumas NF. Image by Greg Suba 2021. The terrain in the steep trail system makes most of the burnt snags within 150-200 feet of upslope trailside a hazard to hikers below. Downslope, the Forest Service can be a bit more selective about what needs to be removed in terms of fall-hazard to hikers, and what can be left as post-fire wildlife habitat; however even downslope the standing dead material will need to be reduced to achieve appropriate trailside fuel conditions for future fire. Nearly all of the Feather Falls trail (7.3 miles of it) occurs within the Bald Rock Inventoried Roadless Area (IRA), where forest management must be conducted in a manner that preserves the IRA's roadless character. The FRRD proposes to use chainsaw crews and a chipper to fall trees and chip smaller diameter material, and a helicopter to remove and yard larger diameter snags to the parking area. The FRRD estimates a cost of up to $1.9 million for the helicopter yarding alone. Some of the costs can be recovered via commercial salvage of merchantable material, including from the campground and parking areas, though how far that would cover project costs remains unclear. Presently, the FRRD proposes to authorize the less than 250 acres of campground/ parking area salvage logging under a NEPA Categorical Exclusion (CE 220.6 (e)(13)), and is seeking a separate CE authority for the 7.3 miles of trailside work. Which CE to use for the trailside project remains an itemof discussion among the agency, SFL, and others at the time of this writing. The FRRD would like to issue a decision on the proposed Feather Falls project by the end of June, 2021. Stakeholder discussions with the FRRD regarding the Feather Falls Post-Fire Project have focused on a few main issues, including: whether, where, and how mechanical equipment should be employed relative to the IRA boundaries; whether, where, and how reforestation planting versus natural regeneration should occur along the trailsystem; and what NEPA authorization would be the correct path forward. Sierra Forest Legacy (SFL) has submitted written comments to the Plumas National Forest regarding our concerns and recommendations for Feather Falls, and attended a Forest Service-hosted stakeholder fieldtrip to the site in May, 2021 where attendees were able to view and discuss the high severity fire effects associated with the trailhead, campground, and trail system within the context of a broader, vast, post-fire landscape that is just beginning its recovery. The North Complex Fire has created high-severity tree mortality conditions across thousands of contiguous acres of the FRRD landscape, and work needs to be done to make roads, trails, infrastructure, and the people who live and rely upon them safe from post-fire hazards. SFL's on- going work with the Plumas National Forest on several post-fire projects (including both Camp Fire and North Complex Fire areas) focuses on insuring project planning and implementation is collaborative, ecologically sound, and employs appropriate science and regulatory tools to achieve desired outcomes. https://www.sierraforestlegacy.org/NR_SFVoiceNewsletter/SFVN_NewsletterCurrent.php#4 The Sierra Forest Voice Web Edition Vol. 14, No. 1, June 9, 2021 1440 Lincoln Blvd. Lincoln, CA 95648 (916) 645-1631 Fax (916) 645-8344 2/12/2021 Clay Davis District Planner Feather River Ranger District 875 Mitchell Avenue Oroville, CA 95965 Subject: Feather Falls Trailhead Salvage Project Dear Clay, Falls Trailhead Salvage Project. Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) operates nearby forest product manufacturing facilities in Lincoln, Oroville and Quincy. The facilities mentioned play critical roles in the local economies and infrastructure, through providing family wage jobs for their employees. SPI supports the purpose and need of this project, as it is essential to remove the roadside hazard trees that pose a safety risk to the public traveling in highly recreated areas, as well as the workers using this road system. The recovery of the salvageable timber in a timely matter is crucial for recovering the maximum economic value of the burned timber, while also contributing to the rural communities by supplying a wood supply to local mills which provides considerable employment in their surrounding areas. Recovery and reestablishment of the burned landscape is critical for the growth and regeneration of new seedlings in this high-site area, as well as reducing the amount of debris and fuel loading that would exist in a future wildfire event. The prompt implementation of the project would benefit the restoration of habitat, regeneration of the landscape, safety to the public and other landowners in the area, and the merchantability of the salvage timber. The SPI Stirling District has property which completely parcel, as well as a shared property line with the Feather Falls Trailhead area of the project. We are actively logging the damaged timber on our own ownership, which was also a result of the Bear Fire. With the Trailhead Salvage Project including areas on main traveled haul roads, it is imperative for the timely removal of these hazard trees for the safety of our log truck drivers, logging contractors, foresters, landowners, and the public. The active operations taking place on the surrounding SPI ownership is being conducted to restore our land following the burn by replanting to grow a forest which may provide ecological, economical, and sociological benefits for future generations. tğŭĻ Ћ As a neighboring landowner and stewardship partner, it is of upmost importance to reduce these safety hazard risks of roadside hazard trees by implementing the hazard tree removal portion of this project as quickly as possible. The expedited removal of these trees will also increase the merchantability of the trees removed, by not allowing the trees to decay further or become subject to bug infestation. The critical aspect for providing quality wood products to mills is the timeliness of the project, where wood quality only degrades with time and how long it takes to implement the management objectives of this project. SPI appreciates the inclusion of Providing adequate timber supplies contributes to the economic stability of rural communities in the Sierra Nevada Forests in your planning document. We depend on the consistent, reliable-supply of economical products from National Forests to produce quality wood products for the American public. The Bear Fire had devastating effects on the rural and local communities, and through the harvest and manufacturing of these materials, local communities and infrastructure can be supported. excluded from documentation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and will support considering our comments. Sincerely, Tanner Olson Sierra Pacific Industries Lincoln Division Forester Plumas National Forest Forest Service News Release Contact: Feather River Ranger District (530) 534-6500 https://www.fs.usda.gov/plumas www.facebook.com/usfsplumas www.twitter.com/usfsplumas Feather Falls Recreation Area Closures Oroville, CA May 28, 2021 Extensive fire damage to facilities on Plumas National Forest land in the Feather Falls, CA area will take a minimum of several years to repair. Facilities needing to be reconstructed, including the Feather Falls Trail, Campground, and Overlook, will remain closed in the interim as the area is too dangerous to enter. Other locations within the Feather Falls area and throughout the North Complex burn area will take far more time to heal. been tough to process the extent of the damage The popular Feather Falls Trail has been obliterated in many locations due to uprooted trees & landslides, and because bridges, plus the overlook, were largely destroyed. Photo Caption: Feather Falls Overlook destroyed by fire Photo Credit: USDA Forest Service Plumas National Forest -more- USDA is an equal opportunity provider, and lender. Burned areas are extremely dangerous due to unstable trees and other unseen hazards such as said Brillenz. He indicated that a strong law enforcement presence would be present to ensure public safety and to protect sensitive areas. Beyond the facilities, which are inherently ephemeral in nature, the entire area is sacred to Native Americans. Brillenz said that working cooperatively with local tribal members to preserve and protect their heritage is a top priority for him, the Ranger District, and the Forest, especially during facility reconstruction and restoration of the larger landscape. Brillenz. He indicated that millions of dollars have been received to assist with burned area restoration and that many local and national stakeholder groups are already involved in site repair and reconstruction. Fire related closure information for the Feather River Ranger District may be found at: http://fs.usda.gov/main/plumas/alerts-notices and other recreation opportunities across the Forest https://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/plumas/recreation. The Feather River Ranger District may be reached at (530) 534-6500. ### USDA is an equal opportunity provider, and lender.