January 18, 2018 – Sierra Streams Institute and the City of Nevada City are partnering to implement a forest health and fuel reduction project supported by a Sierra Nevada Conservancy Proposition 1 Watershed Improvement Program grant. Project goals are to improve forest and watershed health to help prevent catastrophic wildfire, impacts to water quality and wildlife habitat, and to protect the community.
Sierra Streams will work with contractors to reduce fuel loads through selective thinning of overstocked trees less than 6 inches in diameter, highly flammable understory vegetation, dead material and invasive species (ladder fuels). Trees and shrubs including black oak, madrone, and dogwood will be protected to provide diversity and wildlife habitat for species such as Western pond turtles, Pacific chorus frogs, mammals, songbirds and waterfowl. Flagged trees will NOT be cut. Please do not remove this flagging.
Work crews will stage at the Wood’s Ravine Trailhead on Indian Trail Rd. and work from the west side of the Hirschman’s Pond back to the Indian Flat and Wood’s Ravine Trailheads. Due to the use of chainsaws and trail obstructions in work areas, this portion of the trail will be closed for public safety Monday – Friday, January 22nd through February 9th from 7am-4pm. The trail will be open from the Cement Hill parking lot to Hirschman’s Pond during this time. The entire trail will be open on the weekends.
Please contact Denise at Sierra Streams Institute (denise@sierrastreams.org) with questions, or if you would like to help with this project.