NEVADA CITY, Calif. March 13, 2019 – Good news for Cascade Shores residents and recreationists alike. The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) awarded a $981,000 grant to NID to complete Phase 4 of their fuels reduction program. This phase is located on the north and east shores of the Scotts Flat Reservoir, will be initiated during Summer 2019, and will be completed by January 2022.
The project description submitted to SNC reads, in part: The project will treat 300 acres and will significantly reduce catastrophic fire risk and promote healthy and functional forest and watershed conditions, improve carbon sequestration, and protect an existing water storage facility. This project sits within a larger fuels reduction program aimed at significantly reducing fire risk in partnership with the Cascade Shores and Banner Mountain Firewise Communities and CAL FIRE, and expands the Nevada County Community Shaded Fuel Break
According to Neysa King, NID Environmental Resources Administrator, “This project is the fourth phase of a larger effort that began on District owned properties in 2013. In 2016, NID partnered with SNC and the CCC to implement a similar fire fuels reduction project at Scotts Flat Reservoir, near Pasquale Road and adjacent to the dam. Subsequently NID selectively thinned and treated fire fuels throughout the Gate 1 Campground at Scotts Flat, also extending the fuel break on the northeast side of the reservoir. Lessons learned through implementation of these projects have informed the development and budgeting of this project. This year, in a separate but complimentary project, NID will complete approximately 30 acres of mechanical mastication in partnership with CAL FIRE in a California Forest Improvement Program project on the north shore of Scotts Flat.”
Said King, “NID will coordinate with the Scotts Flat and Cascade Shores Homeowners Associations during project implementation. We will advertise green waste collection and chipping days to encourage residents to bring green waste for processing, as an alternative to burning on private lands. We will chip these materials and spread within the project boundary. We will host at least one community meeting, and will also develop educational materials and a sign to be displayed at three locations adjacent to Scotts Flat Reservoir on District property to promote an increased understanding and awareness about wildfire risk, forest health and ecology, water resource management and climate change.”