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Chief Administrative Office recommending that the Board of Supervisors:
1) Approve the addition of this agenda item as an urgency item to the agenda of the regular Board of Supervisors meeting for August 29, 2017, as the information regarding the need to take action arose following the posting of the Addenda Agenda; and
2) Approve the attached letter to support continued State funding of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s (CAL FIRE) Forest Health Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and authorize the Chair to sign the letter.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND:
The State legislature is currently considering funding of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s (CAL FIRE) Forest Health Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
As indicated in the attached letter, El Dorado County is a member of SACOG, a region made up of 6 counties and 22 cities that inhabit a diversity of landscapes from the coastal range to the crest of the Sierra Nevada range. The region recognizes the importance of protecting and managing the nearly 1.2 million acres of forests in our region as these lands provide multiple benefits including water supply, habitat, recreation and timber. However, these forests are also creating challenges as fire frequency and severity continue to escalate due to overstocked forests, tree mortality, and management tendency toward fire suppression, rather than prevention. The results of these conditions manifest in many ways including increased days of poor air quality, fouled rivers and reservoirs, loss 2
of habitat, impacts on recreation, displaced residents, and loss of fire insurance. Not only do these results impact the quality of life in our region, they also impact our economy.
El Dorado County currently has one project that is currently using a grant from the CAL FIRE Healthy Forest Grant Program -- the Fire Adapted 50 project in El Dorado County. This partnership between CAL FIRE, Caltrans, U.S. Forest Service, and El Dorado County creates fue...
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