News releases

The Mammoth Lakes Fire Safe Council (MLFSC) has received approval from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) on a grant application for the Lakes Basin Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project in the amount of $1,000,000 to conduct mechanical and hand thinning, fuel breaks, roadside and campground fuels reduction, forest restoration, and meadow aspen release treatments on a minimum of 560 acres and up to 632 acres on Inyo National Forest land over a two- to three-year period.

These activities will protect public infrastructure, recreational access, and forest and watershed resources. The project lies within the headwaters of Mammoth Creek which provides municipal water to the Town of Mammoth Lakes and flows into the Owens River.

The award was authorized by the Governing Board of the SNC at a recent quarterly meeting. Funding for this project comes from Proposition 1, The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, and Prop 68, The California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018.

The application for the grant was initiated by the MLFSC with support by the Mammoth Community Water District, Mammoth Lakes Fire Protection District, United States Forest Service, Town of Mammoth Lakes, Mono County Board of Supervisors, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

The MLFSC is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization of local residents whose purpose is to provide information, education, and resources to the community and serve as a liaison between the community members, agencies and authorities to mitigate the threat and severity of wildfire. There are over 50 Fire Safe Councils in California with the mission of sponsoring this kind of community based interagency collaboration.

###

The SNC is a California State agency created by bi-partisan legislation (AB 2600) and signed into law in 2004. The SNC was created with the understanding that the environmental, economic, and social well-being of the Sierra Nevada and its communities are closely linked and that the Region and the State of California would benefit from an organization providing a strategic direction.

###

From the Sierra Nevada Conservancy

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) Governing Board recently authorized over $26 million in funds for 35 projects that will reduce wildfire risk, protect water supply, and restore forest and watershed health in the Sierra Nevada region.

The projects awarded support the goals and objectives of the Sierra Nevada
Watershed Improvement Program, a large-scale restoration program designed to improve ecosystem and community resilience in the Sierra Nevada. This program is coordinated by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and implemented through a strong network of state and federal agencies, local government, and tribal, private, and nonprofit partners.

“Building resilience in the Sierra Nevada is our primary focus, and the funding
authorized by our board demonstrates the SNC’s commitment to increasing the pace
and scale of restoration across the region,” says Angela Avery, Executive Officer for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. “We’re proud to be supporting these projects and the
partners who will be implementing them on the ground.”

Funding for these projects come from Proposition 1, The Water Quality, Supply, and
Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014; Proposition 68, The California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018; the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund; Fire Settlement Funds; and the California Climate Investments program. Funding awards were made by the SNC Governing Board at the quarterly board meeting on March 7, 2019 in Cameron Park, CA.

Approximately $14.4 million in Proposition 1 and Proposition 68 funds were authorized for 23 projects in Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Fresno, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sierra, Tehama, and Tuolumne counties. One additional project, funded by Proposition 68 for $163,405, will complete a land conservation assessment across all 22 counties within the Sierra Nevada region.

Four projects were authorized for funding through the Timber Regulation and Forest
Restoration Fund for a total of $750,000. These four projects support innovative wood product manufacturing and increase rural economic development around wood product manufacturing across the 22-county Sierra Nevada region.

One project was authorized for just over $6 million in funding through Fire Settlement
Funds. This project will complete reforestation activities in the Moonlight Fire burn
footprint in the Plumas National Forest.

Approximately $4.6 million was authorized for subgrants and contracts to complete
components of the Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative (TCSI) All-Lands Regional
Restoration Program Eldorado Projects/French Meadows Project. The TCSI All-Lands Regional Restoration Program is funded by a $10.7 million grant from CAL FIRE’s California Climate Investments grant program and will implement five separate forest health projects, planning and environmental review for six future restoration projects, and three research projects in Placer, El Dorado, Yuba, and Sierra counties.

This project is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing GHG emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities.

The Cap-and-Trade program also creates a financial incentive for industries to invest in clean technologies and develop innovative ways to reduce pollution. California Climate Investments projects include affordable housing, renewable energy, public transportation, zero-emission vehicles, environmental restoration, moresustainable
agriculture, recycling, and much more.

At least 35 percent of these investments are located within and benefit the residents of disadvantaged communities, low-income communities, and low-income households across California.

For more information, visit the California Climate Investments website at:
www.caclimateinvestments.ca.gov.

Additional information about each of these projects and the programs that fund them
can be found at www.sierranevada.ca.gov in the March 2019 Board Meeting materials.
About the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Created in 2004, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy is a state agency whose mission is to improve the environmental, economic, and social well-being of the Sierra Nevada Region.

The Sierra Nevada Region spans 25 million acres, encompasses all or part of 22 counties, and runs from the Oregon border in the north to Kern County in the south.

The Region is the origin of more than 60 percent of California’s developed water supply.