Collaborative Forest Restoration Project Celebrated by Six Rivers Forest

Siskiyou Wilderness area in Six Rivers Forest looking toward Ship Mountain [Photo from the Forest Service.]

The Gasquet Ranger District/Smith River National Recreation Area, in collaboration with the Smith River Collaborative (SRC), has completed the environmental analysis of the Knopki South Project. Six Rivers National Forest Supervisor Ted McArthur signed the Decision Memo on Wednesday, June 12.

“The collaborative approach we’re taking on the Six Rivers is not only good for the health of the forest—it’s good for our communities,” said McArthur. “Knopki South is not only about ecological restoration; it’s about making our forest more resilient to high-severity wildfire, keeping our communities safe from wildfire, and contributing to our local economies.”

The 875-acre integrated vegetation and fuels management Knopki South Project will restore habitats by promoting stand development in plantations, reduce hazardous fuel buildup along roads creating strategic fuelbreaks, reduce the potential for extreme wildfire conditions in the area, restore white oak stands and promote culturally important beargrass. The project will also provide employment opportunities, commercial timber, fuelwood products and public firewood cutting areas that contribute to the local economy.

The South Knopki Project is the outcome of a community-developed approach to treating hazardous fuels, and restoring terrestrial and aquatic habitats. This planning process was based on creating trust and building lasting relationships between community members, agencies, and organizations to accelerate protection and restoration of landscapes within Del Norte County.

The SRC is a joint venture between local tribes (Elk Valley Rancheria and Tolowa Dee-ni′ Nation), Del Norte County elected officials, local and regional environmental groups (Friends of Del Norte, Klamath Forest Alliance, EPIC, KS Wild, and Smith River Alliance), Del Norte Fire Safe Council, and American Forest Resource Council, working in partnership with Six Rivers National Forest leadership. The SRC is dedicated to developing projects that focus on thinning plantations (i.e., previously harvested stands) to promote habitat restoration, as well as treating hazardous fuels to help protect private property and federal land in the event of a wildfire.

For more information, please contact Jeff Marszal, District Ranger, at (707) 457-3860, [email protected], or visit www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=55928.