Landowners in the Woodpecker Ravine Phase 1 Shaded Fuel Break Project area are urged to submit Right-of-Entry (ROE) permissions to the Office of Emergency Services by the end of August to take advantage of this free hazardous fuels reduction project.
An ROE must be signed by the landowner for consultants to enter private property to design treatment, conduct cultural assessments, and collect the necessary botanical and wildlife surveys to meet California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements. Participating landowners will subsequently be asked to sign a second ROE agreeing to on-the-ground hazardous fuels reduction.
The project aims to address vegetation on 410 acres of private property in an area that has been identified as a priority for fuels reduction by CAL FIRE and the community. Sandwiched between Highways 49 and 174 and bounded at the top and bottom by Empire Mine State Historic Park and Mount Olive Road respectively, Woodpecker Ravine is within the high and very high fire hazard severity zones just southeast of Grass Valley.
The project kicked off in April with a public Town Hall, and over the last three months more than 220 Right-of-Entry (ROE) forms have been collected from landowners in the project area.
A $2 million CAL FIRE grant that was awarded to the Office of Emergency Services is funding the work.
In sum the project will protect nearly 400 homes within the project area, plus 14 schools and eight fire stations nearby. Once completed,
the project would help limit wildfire spread, and improve evacuation routes for residents and access for first responders during a wildfire.
More Information About the Project
Landowners and interested community members can learn more about the Woodpecker Ravine Phase 1 Shaded Fuel Break on the project page here: https://www.nevadacountyca.gov/3802/Woodpecker-Ravine
Landowners can look up their address to verify that they are within the project area here: https://www.nevadacountyca.gov/3802/Woodpecker-Ravine
If you received an ROE and have questions you can email OES: oes@nevadacountyca.gov
