Six Rivers National Forest Seeking Comment on Akrewoods Project

This is a press release from the Six Rivers National Forest:

The Six Rivers National Forest’s Mad River Ranger District has begun public scoping for the Akrewoods Fuels Reduction Project (Akrewoods Project), as required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The project is a collaborative effort between the Forest Service and the Trinity County Collaborative Group (TCCG).

The scoping period—September 13 through October 15, 2019—provides an opportunity to review and comment on land management activities proposed on public lands.

The Akrewoods Project would provide rural communities and residents safer evacuation routes during wildfires; allow greater, faster wildland firefighter response and suppression; and reduce the risk of roadside fire starts traveling into high-value forest resources. In addition, dense and overstocked plantations near proposed fuelbreaks would be thinned to reduce fire risk and increase stand resilience.

The project proposes to reduce hazardous fuels along Forest Service roads 2S08, 2S09, 2S19, 2S44, 2S60, 3S14, 3S20, 3S26, 3S18, 3S41, 3S42 and 3S47, as well as in plantations near proposed shaded fuelbreaks, where the forest canopy would be retained. Hazardous fuels include fine fuels (e.g., needles and grasses) and larger fuels (e.g., shrubs, branches, downed trees and logs). The 1,500-acre treatment area would yield commercial outputs (e.g., sawlogs) and non-commercial products (e.g., personal-use firewood and post/poles).

“This is the third project the Mad River District has worked on with the TCCG and I couldn’t be more pleased with how our collaborative efforts are making a difference across the landscape and in this community,” said Forest Supervisor Ted McArthur.

The TCCG is a diverse group of landowners, business owners, local and regional conservation groups, timber industry representatives, fire safe councils, local non-governmental organizations, federal and county government agencies dedicated to ensuring the long-term health and resilience of their local ecosystems, natural resources, economy and communities.

For more information, contact Krista Smith, project lead, at (707) 574-6849 or [email protected], or visit www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=56810.