February 3, 2020 – The Yuba-Bear Burn Cooperative (YBBC) will host a meeting at the North Star House in Grass Valley on Wednesday, February 5th from 6:00-7:30 PM. The YBBC (formerly called the Nevada County Prescribed Burn Association) is a grassroots group of landowners and community members working to support prescribed fire on private lands throughout the Yuba and Bear watersheds. The meeting is open to members of the public who are interested in prescribed burning.

Forests in the Yuba Watershed evolved with frequent fires that thinned the forest understory and created diverse, healthy landscapes. After nearly a century of fire suppression, many of our forests are overly dense and are susceptible to stand-replacing fires that can threaten communities and forest resources. Prescribed burning allows land managers to restore fire to controlled areas under safe conditions, which can improve forest health and significantly mitigate the effects of a future wildfire.

Prescribed burn associations (PBAs) are common in Midwestern states but are relatively new to California. PBAs help make prescribed burning accessible to private landowners by leveraging volunteer support, working with volunteer fire departments, providing prescribed fire equipment, and more. The Humboldt County Prescribed Burn Association became the first modern PBA in the west in 2018 and has now burned over 1,000 acres. For more information on private lands burning, see University of California Cooperative Extension’s power point presentation Options for Prescribed Fire on Private Lands in California.

The 2/5 meeting will include a discussion on air quality permitting with the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District, as well as a presentation on fuel reduction opportunities with the EQUIP program by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Landowners are encouraged to attend, ask questions, and learn about prescribed fire as a fuel reduction tool for their lands.

For a full agenda, and to RSVP, please contact Jamie Ervin at jamie@sierraforestlegacy.org.