Winter 1999 Conservation Almanac Newsletter, Trinity County Resource Conservation District

8/3/2019 Winter 1999 Conservation Almanac Newsletter, Trinity County Resource Conservation District

1/7

1 Trinity County Resource Conservation District Winter Issue 1999

engineering firm at Vandenberg Airforce Base.

Pat and his wife, Carol, have owned propertynear Covington Mill for several years, and hadbeen looking for an opportunity to relocate toTrinity County. They moved from St. Augustine,Florida when he assumed his new position in

mid-January. Both are outdoor enthusiasts, avid hik-(Continued on page 6)

Conservation AlmanacConservation AlmanacConservation AlmanacConservation AlmanacTrinity County Resource Conservation District

Winter 1999 Vol. VIII No. 1

Also In This Issue:Tree Planting & Maintenance WorkshopTrinity River Fuels Reduction and

Forest HealthTrinity County Fire Safe CouncilGIS Mapping Project

RCD Hires

District ManagerTrinity County Resource Conservation Districthas a new District Manager. The vacancy wasadvertised last summer, and the Board ofDirectors hired Patrick Frost last November. Pathas extensive experience in resourceconservation and management, having served forover 14 years with the St. Johns River WaterManagement District in Florida. Frost was on thewater management districts senior managementstaff for 12 years, and was involved in managing

water resources in a wide variety of ways. He ismost proud of his role in theprotection and restoration of the Wekiva Riversystem near Orlando.

Frost received his bachelors degree in biology in1976 from the University of San Francisco, andreturned there for his masters degree afterhaving served in the Peace Corps in El Salvadorfrom 1976-78. His graduate work was inornithology, but Pat began to focus on waterresources management and wetlands ecology

in Florida.

In addition to his most recent work with the watermanagement district, Frost has experience withthe Florida Department of Transportation, hasworked as an adjunct instructor in the Depart-ment of Civil and Environmental Engineering atthe University of Central Florida, provided volun-teer technical support to Nicaraguas Ministry ofNatural Resources, and was employed with an

Pat Frost, District Manager


2/7


removing ties and stakes; and mini-mal pruning to remove dead orcrossing branches. After this initialperiod, the trees need occasionalpruning, which should be done by aprofessional arborist or a trainedcrew or volunteer. Extensivedamage can, and does, occur when

improper pruning methods areused. Improper pruning tocontrol height, known as topping, isconsidered one of the worst prac-tices, because of the permanentdamage it does to the tree.

Well-cared-for trees live longer andprovide many more benefits thando urban trees that are poorly main-tained. According to a US ForestService study, the larger leaf mass

of mature trees allows them to pro-vide more shade, energy conserva-tion and carbon dioxide absorption.Uncared for trees are less healthy,developing weak branches withhigh susceptibility to wind, insectsand disease.

There are numerous sources ofinformation that can teach you howto properly care for your urbantrees. Local nurseries, the Califor-

nia Department of Forestry and FireProtection and the Trinity CountyRCD can help you identify suitabletrees, their proper care, and how toidentify insects and diseases. Inaddition, visit Internet sites, such aswww.arborday.org and www.ufei.calpoly.edu, to learn more aboutthis subject.

To further assist tree owners, a treeplanting, pruning and maintenance

workshop will be held on Saturday,March 13th at the Trinity County Li-brary in Weaverville at 9 a.m. to1:30 p.m. Bring a sack lunch. Top-ics will include proper planting,pruning, and care and maintenanceof urban trees (fruit and nut treeswill be included). The workshop willinclude classroom and field time.Mr. Warren Lytle from Shasta Col-

Tree Planting andMaintenance

Workshop Planned

Trees add beauty and characterto our homes and towns. Theyprovide shade from the summer

sun, and habitat for backyardbirds. Trees planted in townsand cities, away from theirnatural growing areas, areconsidered urban trees. Assuch, they have specialmaintenance needs.

According to the National ArborDay Foundation, urban trees of-ten go neglected by homeown-ers due to a common miscon-

ception that trees should be leftalone, just as they are in the for-est. What many of us do not re-alize is that the elements thatsupport the growth and mainte-nance of trees in the forest aremissing in an urban environ-ment. Forest trees have eachother to shield them from thewind, to prune their lowerbranches, and to help form theircrowns. Urban trees, on the

other hand, usually stand aloneor in a small group. Therefore,they dont benefit from the self-maintenance found in a forest.

The sites selected to plant urbantrees are often limited, and notalways the best suited for thetrees. Many trees are growing inpoor, compacted soil, with lessthan optimal light, may be ex-posed to pollution, and are sub-

jected to more foot traffic andvandalism than in a forest.

The care you need to give urbantrees changes over time. For thefirst 3 to 5 years they need thefollowing minimum care: aweekly, deep watering during thedry season; weeding and mulch-ing the tree base; adjusting and

lege will be the instructor for thisworkshop. Tree care pamphletsand seedling trees will be given toall of the participants. Both a bareroot apple and plum tree will beraffled off at the completion of theworkshop. This is sponsored bythe Trinity County General Ser-

vices and the Planning Depart-ment, under a Proposition 70 ur-ban forestry grant from CaliforniaDepartment of Forestry.

If you have any questions, pleasecall Brenda at (530) 623-1352; ex-tension 3410.

________________________________

Ranch and WatershedPlanning Workshop

Trinity County ranchers and land-owners are invited to participate ina workshop focusing on ranchplanning with respect to waterquality. The two day workshopwill be held on Saturday, April24th and Saturday, May 1st atthe Trinity County Fairgrounds inHayfork. The workshop will beginat 1 p.m. and adjourn at 4 p.m.Participants in the workshop willhave the opportunity to develop

information on water quality thatcan be incorporated into theirranch operation. The cost of theworkshop, which normally is $50per ranch, has been reduced to$20 through an EQIP riparianeducation grant and South ForkTrinity River Restoration Projectfunds. This workshop is spon-sored by Trinity County ResourceConservation District, Natural Re-source Conservation Service, and

UC Cooperative Extension.

For more info call Don Coffin at628-5495, Pat Frost at 623-6004,or Jim Spear at 623-3991 ext. 2.


3/7


drawings previously created bythe Planning Department, andPublic Land Survey (PLS) cover-ages obtained from Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Six Riv-ers National Forest, MendicinoNational Forest, and the Califor-nia Department of Forestry.

Once all the available data weregathered, the four PLS cover-ages were combined andexported to a CAD drawing. Allof the AP maps were integratedinto this base map drawing.Existing digital drawings had tobe cleaned significantly andmanipulated by obvious land-marks such as roads, streams,

and section corners to fit boththe topographic background and

the PLS base map drawing.This method of georeferencingwas also applied to the hand-drawn AP maps, which were firstdigitized from the scannedimages, cleaned, and then fittedinto the base map drawing. Asthe AP maps were added, eachparcel was labeled with its APnumber as the unique

GIS Mapping Project

Trinity County ResourceConservation District's GIS DataManager, Kelly Sheen,contracted with Trinity CountyPlanning Department to work on aGeographic Information System

(GIS) mapping project during1998. The purpose of the projectwas to create a geographically ref-erenced spatial database of As-sessor's Parcels (AP) for all ofTrinity County for the Land UseElement of the County's GeneralPlan and the E911 projectcompiled by Mary Arey with TrinityCounty Planning Dept.The first step of this project was

data acquisition, which includedthe following; all Computer AidedDrafting (CAD) drawings of APmaps completed by theAssessors Office, digital scannedimages of hand drawn AP mapsnot yet in CAD format from CD-ROM, hard copies of all AP mapsfor reference, a digital USGS to-pographic map backgroundimage for the entire county alsofrom CD-ROM, any useful CAD

identifier. When all of the APmaps had been integrated, theentire drawing was once morecleaned, then finally exportedto a GIS coverage for use bythe Planning Department.

This project is now being used

by the Emergency Responseeffort, and will be used by theCounty for the Trinity CountyGeneral Plan, identifying landuse issues and zoning. Thesenew GIS maps will provide asignificant benefit to the Countythrough theidentification of address andgeographical location enablingbetter service for emergencyfire and medical needs. Trinity

County is one of the few,counties in California withoutan emergency householdaddressing system. This is duelargely to the fact thatTrinity County is made up of alarge amount of federallydesignated land with smallremote pockets of non-federalresidential areas. In addition,the majority of roads leading tothese pockets of residential

areas in Trinity County areprivate roads, which are notnamed or addressed.

The lack of correct addressesand geographical locations,and in some cases, the totalnon-existence of addressesdue to most roads not having aname and households there-fore having no address, haspresented a barrier to the

dispatching of emergencyservices. The GIS mappingproject is correcting this prob-lem.

Sample Parcel Coverage Overlay with Topographic Background


4/7


activities in achieving specifiedobjectives.

In order to qualify for this source offunds, which is part of the Bay-DeltaTributary Watershed Program,TCRCD and WRTC made a casethat protecting water quality inthe Trinity Basin is crucial to achiev-ing the goals of CALFED, sincecontinued reliable waterexports from the Trinity to the Bayand Delta system will ultimatelydepend on maintaining and improv-ing water quality for aquatic habitatin the Trinity River and its tributar-ies. Since 1964, an average of onemillion acre-feet of Trinity Riverwater per year has been exported tothe Sacramento River via theCentral Valley Project. Under ex-pected future minimum flowrequirements, the need to flush

out fine sediments following catas-trophic fire could significantlyreduce the amount of water avail-able for export from the Trinitysystem, thus decreasing reliablequantity and quality of water avail-able to the Bay and Delta. Reduc-ing factors that contribute to theextent and intensity of wildfires onprivate and US Forest Service landsin the Trinity River Basin will protectfunctions of a Delta tributary water-shed, as well as improving forest

health in the Trinity River Basin.

In light of budget cuts and loss oflocal capacity to respond to fires,reducing risks of fires through cost-effective, pre-fire, collaborativeplanning and treatments is increas-ingly important. Although 75% ofTrinity County is federal land, fed-eral and private ownerships are in-termingled in the Trinity watershed.Therefore, improving effective col-laboration among local, state, fed-

eral, and private interests is essen-tial to reducing risks of fire to waterquality. Fuels reduction and moni-toring activities associated with thisproject will also contribute to localcommunity well-being by supportingemployment based on forest andwatershed health, including strate-gic forest thinning and constructing

fuel breaks, monitoring, andprocessing small-diameter woodremoved from project sites for saleto local value-adding industries.

The project is a pro-active, collabo-rative, education-oriented, and in-centive-based approach that willhelp private landowners and citi-zens, public land managers, andfire protection agencies to reducelikelihood of, and prepare for, catas-trophic wildfires in the Trinity Riverwatershed. This project will encour-age voluntary participation by multi-ple stakeholders, and provide in-centives for participation by privatelandowners. Broad local participa-tion in strategic planning to reducerisks of catastrophic fire and streamsedimentation, and in developingand demonstrating the use of cost-effective means of fuels reduction

for watershed protection, will helpbuild community capacity to under-take watershed and fire-relatedplanning, to implement watershedand fire protection projects, and tomonitor their effectiveness.

Local outreach and educationprograms will be coordinated by theTrinity County Fire Safe Counciland its members. Education andoutreach programs will bringtogether diverse groups of citizens

with staff of local, state, and federalagencies, to facilitate open andtimely communication and collabo-ration. The outreach and educationprogram will be closely coordinatedwith existing countywide fire plan-ning initiatives. The educationprogram will provide forums forpublic discussion to identify assetsat risk from wildfire and appropriateaction priorities. This will be ac-complished in conjunction with localimplementation of activities

required in the California Fire Plan(1996) by the California Departmentof Forestry and FireProtection (CDF).

This project is intended to build onvarious ongoing local fuelsreduction, firesafe, and emergencyresponse planning initiatives.

Background GIS map depicts natural and human fire starts around Wildwood

TRINITY RIVER WATER-SHED FOREST HEALTHAND FUELS REDUCTION

TCRCD and the WatershedResearch and Training Center(WRTC) were recently notified thattheir joint proposal to the StateWater Resources Control BoardsSafe, Clean, Reliable Water SupplyAct (better known as Proposition204) has been approved for funding.The project is entitled Trinity RiverWatershed Forest Health and FuelsReduction and is intended to ad-dress water quality factors in theTrinity River by reducing risks ofcatastrophic wildfires and associatederosion and sediment loads in theTrinity River watershed. It will alsohelp improve overall forest health onboth private and National Forest

System lands.

This project has been awarded$400,000 over three years for activi-ties, including: (a) coordinate strate-gic planning to reduce risk of catas-trophic fire and protect watershedfunctions and forest health in theTrinity Basin, through participatoryand collaborative work of the TrinityCounty Fire Safe Council (seerelated article) and Trinity CountyNatural Resources Advisory Council;

(b) implement high-priority demon-stration projects of vegetation man-agement for fuels reduction on landsposing high risks for water qualityimpacts associated with catastrophicfire, including cost-effective forestthinning, shaded fuel break develop-ment, and removal of fuel loads(treating 100 acres of private prop-erty and 150 acres of US Forest Ser-vice land); (c) extend communityoutreach and education onreducing fire risk and fine sediment

loads, and by fostering broad partici-pation in identifying assets at riskand in firesafe planning, as well asworkshops and consultation withland owners in priority locations foraction;and (d) collaborative designand initial implementation of a long-term program to monitor and docu-ment effectiveness of all project


5/7


BackgroundOver the past century, forest use, man-agement, and fire suppression havesignificantly increased thevolume and continuity of live and deadwood fuels near the forest floor. Thesefuels provide a ladder that connectssurface fuels with the forest canopy.Consequently, risks of larger, more

intense, catastrophic fires haveincreased.

Residential and recreational develop-ment in forest lands have increased therisk of fire, as well as the economicvalue of assets at risk from wildfire. Inareas of adjoining private and publicland ownerships, coordinating manage-ment is desirable and important for bet-ter assuring that ecosystem health canbe maintained and restored.

Water supply and water quality requirehealthy watershed processes in theupper portions of tributary watersheds.Catastrophic fire is detrimental towatershed function and water quality.By killing vegetation, burning theorganic matter in litter and soil, andforming impervious soil layers, severefires accelerate runoff from the water-shed. More water is discharged over ashorter period of time, peak flows aregreater (contributing to increased floodhazards), and summer and fall stream-flows are lower than those in less

disturbed watersheds. Bare soils andincreased runoff result in higher levelsof sedimentation and landslidesbecome more prevalent.

Land and resource management in theupper portions of tributary watershedshave substantially modified watershedprocesses by making it more suscepti-ble to catastrophic fire. This hasaffected the reliability of high-qualitywater inflows to the Trinity River and itstributaries. Catastrophic fires also

increase risks of fine sediment runoff.

The California Department of Forestry& Fire Protection and the US ForestService are already engaged in steer-ing the process of planning for firesafety, and other signatories are pursu-ing a variety of activities aimed atreducing risk of wildfire. The TrinityCounty Fire Safe Council will aid in co-

(Continued on page 7)

our concerns and develop a strate-gic plan to minimize the risk ofcatastrophic fire in the county.

Reducing risks of wildfire to forestand watershed ecosystem func-tions, safety, and community as-sets through coordinated planningefforts and improved emergency

response is something most indi-viduals and agencies agree upon.

Our proposal to implement fuelsreduction projects on private andpublic lands in the Trinity RiverWatershed included the develop-ment of a Memorandum of Under-standing (MOU) for the TrinityCounty Fire Safe Council. Prior tosubmitting the proposal, the TrinityCounty Board of Supervisorsapproved of the idea of forming aTrinity County Fire Safe Counciland signed the MOU. The FireSafe Council is a subgroup of thenewly formed Trinity CountyNatural Resources AdvisoryCouncil which is an ad-hocadvisory group formed to advisethe Trinity County Board ofSupervisors concerning natural re-source issues in the County.

The following are highlights of theTrinity County Fire Safe CouncilMOU:

PurposeThe MOU establishes a proactiveapproach to address the risk ofcatastrophic fires in Trinity Countyby forming a Fire Safe Council toidentify high risk areas and under-take strategic planning to reducethose risks on both private andpublic lands using a locally ledplanning process.

The MOU will help facilitate

coordinated action with local, state,and federal agencies,watershed-based groups, industryand commercial associations,neighborhood associations, privatelandowners, and other concernedparties in programs that contributeto healthy ecosystem functions inTrinity County and its watershedsby reducing the risk of catastrophicfire.

These include firesafe outreachand planning as well as fuel reduc-tion projects in the East Branch ofEast Weaver Creek, Hayfork, andCovington Mill, and ongoing land-owner assistance by CDF, Stew-ardship Incentive Programs (SIP)and EQIP-funded governmentcost-sharing programs on private

land, Hayfork Ranger Districtshaded fuel break project, firemanagement planning on privateindustrial timber holdings, Hay-forks Fire Management Plan, anddevelopment of a County-wide911 emergency responsesystem.

Emergency fire response in TrinityCounty has long relied on inter-agency cooperation among localVolunteer Fire Departments, theCalifornia Department of Forestryand Fire Protection, the US ForestService and private landowners.While building on these ongoingefforts, this project will supporteven more effective publicparticipation and inter-agencycooperation for strategic land-scape-scale planning to reducerisks of catastrophic fire and of wa-ter quality impairment.

___________________________

TRINITY COUNTY

FIRE SAFE COUNCILAs part of the process of preparinga proposal to obtain funds to im-plement fuels reduction projects itbecame apparent that it would bedifficult to obtain funds if we couldnot show that there is an overallstrategic plan for prioritizing firerisk in the watershed. A forumwas deemed necessary to bringtogether the various vested inter-ests and agencies to gather all

available information and developsuch a plan that would prioritizefire risk areas over the whole land-scape rather than on a piecemealbasis. Fire Safe Councils exist inother communities in the state andare intended to be a consortium oflocal, state, and federal agencies,watershed based groups, industry,private landowners and seemedan appropriate avenue to address


6/7


(Continued from page 1)

ers and paddlers. Of course themove to Trinity County has meantthat they will be trading in theirFlorida canoe for kayaks and araft. Pat has kept his birdwatchingskills honed over the years, havingled and participated in wildlife sur-veys throughout central Florida.

Pat is looking forward tocombining his water managementexperience in Florida with theexpertise of the ResourceConservation District to serve theresidents of Trinity County insolving the wide range of resourcechallenges in the county.

Trinity River Video

Available

The video, The Waters of ThoseMountains: Restoring the TrinityRiver is completed. Copies areavailable through the producer,Emelia Berol, (707) 826-1963, [email protected].

This half hour video was producedin 1998 and gives an overview ofthe ecological problems caused bythe construction of the dams onthe Trinity River: impacts to thefishery, a history of the TrinityRiver Restoration Program andinterviews with scientists and

others involved in the restorationprogram.

A donation of $15 is requested tohelp with duplication and distribu-tion costs. Checks can be sent toTrinity Video Project,P.O. Box 4201, Arcata,CA 95518.

Weaverville BasinWeaverville BasinWeaverville BasinWeaverville Basin

Trail NewsTrail NewsTrail NewsTrail News

This past year has been exciting for theWeaverville Basin Trail System. Stronglocal support has provided a solid foun-dation on which to build and solidify ourtrail system into the next century. In De-

cember, the District hired Scott Morris asa part time Trails Coordinator with fund-ing provided by a US Forest ServiceCERT grant to guide the developmentand implementation of the trail systemmaster plan. Below is a list of projectsthat the Trail Committee is currentlyworking on.

TRINITY GATEWAY PROJECTIn 1997 we joined forces with TrinityCounty Public Works and Planning De-partments to acquire an Environmental

Enhancement and Mitigation Grant fromCaltrans. This grant will provide pavedand landscaped parking for Lee FongPark, the Lee Ranch House and CulturalCenter, the Jake Jackson Museum, theHighland Art Center and the WeavervilleJoss House. In addition, this off-streetparking area will display an informationalkiosk featuring the southern, northernand down river areas of Trinity County,thus providing a true gateway to TrinityCounty. The parking area will also serveas a trailhead for the Weaverville Basin

in-town trail system.

WEAVERVILLE BASIN TRAIL MASTER PLANDEVELOPMENTThe CERT Grants are federal dollars al-located to help offset negative economicimpacts to timber dependent counties bythe listing of the Northern Spotted Owl.The Trail System has needed a clearblueprint for its overall development andmanagement. This is particularly impor-tant when it comes to securing futuregrants for implementing trail work. Thismaster plan will be the long term busi-ness plan for the trail and will focus pri-marily on the proposed in-town sectionsof the trail system from Lee Fong Park tothe Trinity Alps Industrial Park, fromLowden Park to Browns Ranch Roadand then down along the East WeaverCreek levee to the confluence of WestWeaver Creek and Sydney Gulch.These sections are proposed to be hard

surface, multi-use trails similar to theSacramento River Trail in Redding.

US FOREST SERVICESESQUICENTENNIAL GRANTThis grant is designed to help cele-brate Californias 150 years of state-hood and its cultural and historicaldiversity. The Weaverville Basin

Trail Committee, with the much ap-preciated assistance of the TrinityCounty Resource Conservation Dis-trict, has developed a very hand-some self-guided brochure featuringa number of historical points of inter-est and a very detailed map of theentire Weaverville Basin Trail Sys-tem. This is due out March 1st.

THE LAGRANGE CLASSICMOUNTAIN BIKE RACEWhen we heard there was a possibil-ity this extraordinary mountain bikerace might be canceled due to a lackof help, we asked to pitch in. We areexcited to say that the WeavervilleBasin Trail Systems biggest event;The LaGrange Classic, rides again!The event is scheduled for June 19 thand 20th, with the cross-country raceon Saturday and the downhill raceon Sunday.

MEETINGSAND WORK-DAYSThe Weaverville Basin Trail Commit-tee meetings are held the first

Wednesday of every month, at 7p.m. in the TCRCD ConferenceRoom. Our workdays (we call itplay) are held on the second Satur-day following our Wednesday meet-ings. Look for the notice in the Trin-ity Journal under community eventsfor time and place. To become asupporterof theWeaver-ville BasinTrail, send

yourannual $10tax-deductibledonation totheTCRCD.


7/7


Environmental QualityIncentives Program

(EQIP) Funds Available

The Natural Resource ConservationService (NRCS) has receivedmoney for conservation projects inthe South Fork Trinity River and Eel

River watersheds. The conservationfunds, authorized through the FarmBills Environmental Quality Incen-tives Program (EQIP), are offered inpriority areas where there are signifi-cant natural resource needs and ob-

jectives. Environmental enhance-ments that are encouraged throughEQIP include improvements tocreeks and streams, livestock opera-tions, forest health and wildlife habi-tat. EQIP is a new program forfarmers and ranchers who face seri-

ous threats to soil, water, and re-lated natural resources.

Landowners in the South Fork Trin-ity River (includes Hayfork) and EelRiver (including Zenia and Ketten-pom communities) are able to applyfor cost-shares (up to 75%) for awide variety of conservationpractices such as erosion control,fencing, livestock water develop-ments, fuels reduction and fireprotection practices, brush clearingand range and pasture seeding. As

funding is limited, applications willbe ranked based on total environ-mental benefit and cost.

Please contact the local NRCSoffice at (530) 623-3991 if you areinterested in applying for aconservation project. Applicationsare due by March 26, 1999.

(Continued from page 5)

ordination and long term planning atthe local level.

GoalThe shared goal of the MOU is toreduce the risk of catastrophic fire inTrinity County by establishingpriorities for reducing risk of

catastrophic fire on a landscape-level scale in order to improve foresthealth, water quality and quantity,and community well-being.

ObjectivesUndertake strategic planning toaddress and prioritize fire hazards inTrinity County utilizing a locally ledplanning process with all stake-holders based on a landscape-levelanalysis of risk factors andaction priorities.

Focus efforts by aggressively pursu-ing prevention of catastrophic firethrough vegetation management,controlled burning, land use plan-ning, and forest health programs.

Priority Tasks for CoordinatedAction1) Improve coordination among

local, state, and federalresources for long term planning,pre-fire management, and emer-gency response. Facilitate active communica-

tion among all parties engagedin planning or other activitiesto reduce and respond to risksof wildfire in Trinity County.

Develop means to identify andfully utilize local knowledgeand capabilities in coordinatedplanning and fire response.

2) Coordinate activities with re-gard to GIS-based mapping ofdata important to fire man-agement and risk assessment in

Trinity County. Mapping will include assets at

risk, local fire history and re-sponse effectiveness, vegeta-tion type, slope, aspect, roads,streams, fire breaks (planned,implemented, and maintained),prescribed burns, and emer-gency response initiatives.

Identify data gaps, prioritize

data needs, and coordinateactivities to obtain critical in-formation.

Prioritize community projectsbased on analysis of fire riskhazard.

3) Work cooperatively to developand implement cost-effectivemeans of fuels reduction/

thinning, fuel breaks, prescribedburning, and other appropriateprojects.

4) Convene community meetingsto familiarize local communitymembers with on-going effortsand encourage their activeinvolvement. Follow-up outreach at the lo-

cal level. Educate landowners about

the risk of fuels buildup andthe need for appropriatetreatment.

Conduct workshops and distribute newsletters.

5) Develop a monitoring programthat will involve all interestedparties, based on ecosystemprinciples, and take into accountwatershed, forest, and commu-nity assets and values at riskfrom wildfire. Track progress and evaluate

effectiveness.

The Trinity County Fire SafeCouncil held its first meeting onTuesday February 2, 1999 at theTrinity County Office of Education.The Fire Safe Council will be meet-ing again in the near future tocontinue the process of seekingreasonable solutions to minimizingthe risk of catastrophic fires withinTrinity County. If you areinterested in being involved in thiseffort please contact Bill Britton atCDF, P.O. Box 1296, Weaverville,CA 96093 or call (530) 623-4201.

Riparian Fencing Project in Hayfork

Winter 1999 Conservation Almanac Newsletter, Trinity County Resource Conservation District

Documents

Transcript of Winter 1999 Conservation Almanac Newsletter, Trinity County Resource Conservation District