QUINCY — A recent emergency response decision from Forest Service Chief Randy Moore has authorized treatment of approximately 700 acres in the North Fork Forest Recovery Project area in the Plumas National Forest Mount Hough Ranger District.

The 700 acres of the 166,889-acre North Fork Forest Recovery Project approved for emergency treatment include approximately 400 acres near Greenville and 300 acres near Taylorsville. Work is expected to start as soon as this week.

In Greenville, much of the area to be treated burned at high severity in the 2021 Dixie Fire. The remaining trees are a threat to the community, with increased risk of falling, as well as reburning at high intensity. The work is also part of preparations for reforestation to start.

In Taylorsville, work includes thinning in the wildland urban interface to reduce the risk of devastating wildfire. The 2021 Dixie Fire threatened and burned near the community. Critical fuel reduction will help protect the community, improve wildlife habitat, enhance watershed health and restore forest health.

“Both the communities of Greenville and Taylorsville are a critical priority for the Plumas National Forest and the Mount Hough Ranger District,” said Mount Hough District Ranger Joe Hoffman. “The emergency response decision allows us to start critical work in this area immediately in partnership with Sierra Institute for Community and Environment, and we look forward to contractors starting work as soon as next week.”

For Sierra Institute for Community and Environment leadership, the emergency response decision is a great development for work that directly benefits the communities and forest recovery.

“We are connected and deeply invested in the communities and land management in this area, including Greenville and Taylorsville,” said Sierra Institute for Community and Environment Executive Director Jonathan Kusel. “It is exciting to be able to get work started that directly benefits and protects these communities, as well as helping to protect our natural resources and start preparation for reforestation on National Forest System lands burned by the Dixie Fire.”

Area residents and visitors can expect to see increased contractor traffic, including timber operations. Work is expected to continue as long as weather and conditions allow.

“The communities of Greenville and Taylorsville have been through a lot over the past three years, including continued recovery and restoration work,” Hoffman said. “The work we are doing is a continuation of that effort and we look forward to seeing progress on this part of the Plumas National Forest.”

Recently the comment period closed for the Draft North Fork Forest Recovery Project Environmental Assessment, published by the Plumas National Forest, in partnership with the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment, in August.

The Draft Environmental Assessment is available on the Plumas National Forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/plumas/?project=64028.

“The continued work with the Plumas National Forest and our local communities on the North Fork Forest Recovery Project Environmental Assessment is helping us design a project that expands forest recovery, forest restoration and community protection while protecting wildlife habitat, cultural stewardship and environmental conditions,” Kusel said. “We are proud of our planning efforts and participation in implementation.”

The 700 acres in the emergency response decision are still part of the full analysis and North Fork Forest Recovery Project Environmental Assessment.

“We appreciate the decision by Chief Moore to start implementation and treatment on these 700 acres while we continue to navigate the planning process,” said Acting Plumas National Forest Supervisor Rick Hopson. “While we are hopefully closer to a signed decision, it is essential that we have this timely opportunity to start work with local resources and contractors for public health and safety and continued post-fire recovery.”

The North Fork Forest Recovery Project is in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) planning process proposing a variety of treatments on the approximately 166,889 acres in the project area. The project is intended to restore and recover National Forest System lands heavily impacted by the Dixie Fire in 2021, the Walker Fire in 2019 and the Moonlight Fire in 2007.

The proposed project area is described as extending from the Plumas National Forest boundary shared with the Lassen National Forest, up the Feather River Canyon, to the southern tip of Lake Almanor, down to Indian and Genesee Valleys.

For more information on the North Fork Forest Recovery Project, please contact Sierra Institute’s office at 530-284-1022 or email Vincent Vitale at vvitale@sierrainstitute.us.