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Posts Tagged: fuel

Free wildfire publication simplifies understanding fuel-reduction permits on private land

In this restoration treatment, encroaching conifers are removed from an oak woodland to bolster fire resilience. Photo by Jared Gerstein

UCCE forest advisor helps landowners, community groups determine best project options

As Californians prepare for another year of drought and an anticipated intense fire season, landowners and organizations across California have been working to reduce forest fuels – flammable woody material – that can endanger their properties and communities.

For many of them, however, their urgent efforts hit a sizable speed bump: a massive rulebook that describes, amid a thicket of other information, the permits required before people can treat or remove fuels – as well as a litany of attached requirements, restrictions and stipulations.

“The California Forest Practice Rules are 410 pages, in font size 6,” said Yana Valachovic, UC Cooperative Extension forest advisor for Humboldt and Del Norte counties and registered professional forester. “Trying to figure out what permit vehicles make sense in the rulebook is not easy even for the experienced professional forester.”

To assist private landowners and community groups in deciphering the rules and determining their most cost-effective options, Valachovic took the lead in writing a new guide, “Planning and Permitting Forest Fuel-Reduction Projects on Private Lands in California,” available as a free resource in the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources catalog.

A portion of the decision tree framework that breaks down what permit applicants should consider when weighing their choices.

“We tried to create a system where all the permits are laid out side-by-side, and put in a decision tree framework to help make it easier,” said Valachovic, highlighting the publication's tables that break down the project goals and parameters a permit applicant should think about when weighing their choices.

Considerations include whether the project is pre- or post-wildfire, the location and dimensions of trees targeted for removal, the conditions of the site before and after the project, potential time limits, commercial options, and, crucially, budget constraints – given that the permitting process could comprise up to one-third of total project costs.

A primer for planning and preparation

Chris Curtis, the unit forester for CAL FIRE's Humboldt-Del Norte Unit, said that he and his colleagues are grateful for this new tool and plan to use it as an “over the counter” handout for community members. He added that the charts summarizing timber-harvesting regulations and possible funding sources are especially helpful.

This cut-to-length harvester is useful for small-diameter tree harvesting. Photo by Yana Valachovic
“These give a landowner a starting place to sort through the many commercial timber harvesting documents and fuel-modification project funding source options available,” Curtis said. “A landowner is self-guided to a few options that will seem most appropriate, and this will facilitate a resource professional to assist that person in selecting the most appropriate permitting.”

The publication helps prepare the landowner or community entity (such as Resource Conservation Districts, Fire Safe Councils or other concerned groups) for the types of questions that might come up in preliminary planning conversations with a registered professional forester or RPF.

Just as a homeowner would talk with a contractor before tackling a construction project, landowners and community groups must consult with an RPF, Valachovic said. RPFs have the specialized knowledge of forest practice rules and regulations related to water, air quality and endangered species protections, and the license to file the permitting documents.

“That's what I do in my job: Landowners come to me and we start talking about goals and objectives,” she said. “We start thinking about potential timelines – which goals are short-term, which are long-term – and how we can put an operational plan together to help those landowners achieve their goals.”

Long-term projects, short-term actions

Among the many practical tips outlined in this guide, Valachovic emphasized one in particular: for landowners dipping their toes into fuel reduction for the first time, keep the project “simple and realistic.”

In this forest restoration treatment, fuels are piled and will be burned later in the season. Photo by Brita Goldstein
And while even smaller projects could be more expensive this year due to higher costs for gas, equipment and supplies, she said that now is still “a great time to plan,” as fuel-reduction projects can take months to develop and execute.

In the short-term, however, Valachovic stressed that the extremely dry conditions across the state make it imperative for Californians to harden their homes, manage the fuels (i.e., landscape plants, stored wood, tall grass, etc.) immediately adjacent to their homes, and devise and review family emergency plans; see UC ANR's Wildfire Preparation page for detailed information and resources.

“There are a lot of immediate actions that people can be doing this year to help mitigate their wildfire risks and prepare for the unexpected,” she said.

In addition to Valachovic, co-authors of “Planning and Permitting Forest Fuel-Reduction Projects on Private Lands in California” are Jared Gerstein of BBW Associates and Brita Goldstein, UCCE staff research associate in Humboldt and Del Norte counties; both are registered professional foresters.

Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 at 9:03 AM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Natural Resources

Federal government proposes new fuel breaks to manage wildfire

The Federal Government has proposed spending $55 to $192 million to clear large swaths of land in the Western U.S. to create fuel breaks that slow the spread of wildfire, reported Brady McCombs of the Associated Press. The fuel breaks will be managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Utah.

Fuel breaks are a useful tool if used along with other wildfire prevention methods that can keep firefighters safer and potentially help out in broad scopes of land because they are long and thin, said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, the area fire advisor for University of California Cooperative Extension. They can be especially helpful by providing perimeters for prescribed burns. But they must be in the right places, she said.

The article said the BLM has done about 1,200 assessments of fuel breaks since 2002 and found they help control fires about 80 percent of the time. The new fuel breaks will be 500 feet wide or less and created along highways, rural roads and other areas already disturbed.

Excavator clears understory vegetation as part of a fuel break. (Photo: USDA)
Posted on Monday, July 22, 2019 at 8:35 AM
Focus Area Tags: Environment

Forest fuel breaks lived up to their billing

Fuel breaks, like this one in Yuba County, can help firefighters limit the spread of wildfire. (Photo: UC Regents)
In the small, forested Shasta County community of Shingletown, fuel breaks were successful in limiting the destruction of the 2014 Eiler Fire, reported Jeremy Linder on KRCR TV in Northern California. Linder's story centered on a tour for fire agency representatives presented by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources forestry experts.

UC ANR Cooperative Extension hosted the tour to bring together the different agencies that can collaborate fighting fires, managing forests and building and maintaining fuel breaks to arrest the spread of wildfire. 

"Part of the reason (Old Station) didn't burn down is because of all the fuel breaks that the Forest Service had implemented around that general area," said UC ANR Cooperative Extension forestry advisor Ryan DeSantis. "The majority of fires we see are impeded by fuel breaks. They give firefighters time and safer places to fight fires."

Tour participants also discussed maintenance of current fuel breaks, both with and without herbicides. One issue is lack of funding.

"It's good to have everyone come to the table, all the different organizations all the different agencies and get together to discuss what the issues are and how to get through them," DeSantis said.

Posted on Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 1:32 PM
Tags: fuel breaks (0), Ryan DeSantis (0), wildfire (0)

Real or Artificial? The Choice is Yours.

It's that time of the year again when holiday tree lots begin to set up shop and artificial trees are placed out in the local retailers for sale.  As a sustainable gardener I often find myself wondering the age old question, is an artificial tree more environmentally friendly than a real tree?  The answer to this question will likely be the basis for my chosen display  choice this year so I began to investigate the facts behind both options. 

We have had a fake tree for the past 10 years and we are ready for a new one as it is worn out.  Some of the issues with artificial trees are that about 95% of them are manufactured in China (including the one I have) and take large quantities of fossil fuel to transport from China to our market here.  They are largely made of non-biodegradable plastic and studies show they need to be used at least 10 years to make them an environmentally friendly decision.  Most are discarded after an average of only 6 years and then sit in landfills for decades because they don't decompose and cannot be recycled.  In contrast, real trees help regulate carbon dioxide while they are being raised, emitting oxygen into our air.  They are largely recycled after use creating secondary products like mulch and compost.  Real tree farms employ hundreds of thousands of Americans who are dedicated to growing healthy beautiful trees for families to one day idolize, decorate and enjoy memories of.  The fossil fuels needed to pick up a local real cut tree are minor compared to a trip over from China. 

A downside to some tree farms is the usage of pesticides and fertilizers during production which can pollute ground water and soils of unscrupulous users.  My conclusion is that a real tree may be the more green choice when deciding on what kind of holiday tree one displays this season.  I will soon be getting in my eco station wagon to take the family down to the real tree lot this year, the first time in a decade, so we can get a real tree. It is always an "experience" and I'll feel better about the reason why I am there this year.

Beautiful Christmas tree. (photo courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens website)
Beautiful Christmas tree. (photo courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens website)

Posted on Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 8:52 AM
Tags: compost (0), fake tree (0), fossil fuel (0), plastic (0), real tree (0), tree farms (0)

High gas prices won't drive up food prices

Diesel and gas prices were about $2 per gallon in 2009. The price per gallon is now approaching $5.
Record-high gas and diesel prices are putting economic pressure on agricultural operations, but it is unlikely to push up food prices, said a story by Associated Press reporter Gosia Wozniacka.

The cost of fuel is only a small percentage of the cost of farming and getting a product to store shelves, said Daniel Sumner, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis. Food prices will go up only by a few pennies on the dollar at most.

The small increase in cost, however, won't trickle down to growers.

"We farmers don't have any way to recoup the higher gas costs or pass them on to consumers, so we have to swallow them," said Fresno County farmer Keith Nilmeier, who grows apricots, peaches, nectarines, grapes and oranges.

Posted on Friday, October 12, 2012 at 1:59 PM
Tags: Daniel Sumner (34), fuel (4)

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