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Plan supports thinning forests for better water, reducing wildfire risks
Hailed as a plan to thin forests to reduce wildfire risks, protect water quality and improve water yield, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority (UMRWA) have signed a 10-year agreement that is expected to also bring new jobs to the region.
According to the Watershed Improvement Project, a combined effort between the state’s Sierra Nevada Conservancy and the Forest Service, the Sierra Nevada forests and watersheds are at a critical point. Suffering a four-year drought, a century of fire suppression, widespread tree mortality resulting from insect attacks and disease and a changing climate point to an increased risk of large, damaging wildfires.
The agreement was signed by Randy Moore, Pacific Southwest regional forester for the USFS and Terry Woodrow, vice chairwoman of the UMRWA and Fourth District Alpine County Supervisor.
The agreement could help tens of millions of dollars to be granted for forest restoration and watershed management in Alpine, Amador and Calaveras counties. These funds could be spent by the water authority on local contractors, said Steve Wilensky, a founding member of the Amador-Calaveras Consensus Group (ACCG), a community-based organization that works to build fire-safe communities, healthy forests and watersheds, and strong local communities. ACCG was a contributor to the new agreement.
“I think this is the future of how we will manage our national forests,” said Moore. “This will increase the pace and scale of landscape treatment.
Moore also noted that ACCG has received between $250,000 and $750,000 annually, for the past four years for various forest restoration projects. The new USFS-UMRWA agreement is expected to increase that grant-funded amount.
“While we have brought millions of dollars into the area over the last several years, this master stewardship agreement will increase that exponentially,” said Wilensky. “This represents a sea change in how we acquire funding.”
Moore shared that the goal of the new deal is to protect water quality and enhance water supply by reducing hazardous fuels. He said the Forest Service plans to double the amount of forest restoration in California, from 240,000 acres a year being treated now to 500,000 acres a year. He said nine million acres need forest restoration work. The work is expected also to bring new jobs to the region.
“Through this agreement, we are committing to restoring and protecting these valuable resources for generations to come,” said Moore. “Now more of our budget is going to fire suppression. Agreements like this can reduce the need for fire suppression and we can spend more on treatment.”
Supervisor Woodrow echoed Moore’s comments saying, “We’ve been building this agreement for about six years. We’re going to employ local contractors, and improve the forests and watersheds. The relationship between clean and abundant watersheds and a healthy forest has become very apparent.”
The watershed authority is comprised of six water agencies – Amador Water Agency, Calaveras County Water District, Calaveras Public Utility District, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Jackson Valley Irrigation District and Alpine County Water Agency – as well as governments of Alpine, Amador and Calaveras counties. They comprise the regional water management group for Mokelumne-Amador-Calaveras region with a goal of enhancing water supply and protecting water quality and the environment.
