Published: Sep 12, 2014
Forest Service Awards $26,000 for Meyers Forest Health Project – Interagency Effort Saves Time and Resources
South Lake Tahoe, Calif. – The Forest Service announced today a $26,000 grant to Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD) to reduce wildfire risk in Meyers. LVFPD will clear brush and hazard trees on a 6.5 acre California Tahoe Conservancy parcel across from the Tahoe Pines Campground in Meyers, California.
“Protecting local communities by funding fuels reduction work on nonfederal lands is a Forest Service priority,” said Nancy Gibson, Forest Supervisor for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. “This federal grant funding will allow the Lake Valley Fire Protection District and the California Tahoe Conservancy to reduce wildfire risk in the neighborhood, and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our own fuels treatments.”
The U.S. Forest Service Non-Federal Lands Grants support fuel reduction work on parcels adjacent to Forest Service land that has been or will be treated. The same contractor, CTL Forest Management, will be working on both the Conservancy property and adjacent Forest Service land, reducing the overall cost to the agencies.
“The multitude of land owners and land managers in the Basin can sometimes cause challenges implementing forest health treatments,” says Gareth Harris, Fire Chief at LVFPD. “This grant allows our partners to save time and money and treat a larger area.”
The project, scheduled for completion in September, will remove many of the lodgepole pines felled by a prior flood. CTL Forest Management will thin overgrown trees on the adjacent Forest Service properties as part of the South Shore Fuel Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration project.
“The future of grant funding relies on collaboration,” said Conservancy Executive Director Patrick Wright. “All of our agencies work together to collectively protect and preserve Lake Tahoe.”
The LVFPD, since 2005, has been the community’s advocate for wildfire prevention through fire hazard reduction and education. The LVFPD is seeking local funding to continue the effort.
Established in 1984, the mission of the Tahoe Conservancy is to lead California’s efforts to restore and enhance the extraordinary natural and recreational resources of the Lake Tahoe Basin. For more information, visit https://tahoe.ca.gov.
The mission of the U.S. Forest Service, a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more information on fuels and forest health treatments under the South Shore project, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/SouthShoreFuelReduction.