Title
Chief Administrative Office recommending the following:
1) Board appoint Supervisor Ranalli as the El Dorado County representative to the State of California Tree Mortality Task Force; and
2) Receive and file an update from Supervisor Ranalli on the State of California Tree Mortality Task Force. (Est. Time: 10 Min.)
FUNDING: N/A
Body
DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION:
Chief Administrative Officer recommending the following:
1) Board appoint Supervisor Ranalli as the El Dorado County representative to the State of California Tree Mortality Task Force and;
2) Receive and file an update from Supervisor Ranalli on the State of California Tree Mortality Task Force.
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND:
On October 30, 2015, Governor Brown proclaimed a State of Emergency due to unprecedented tree mortality caused by conditions of extreme drought and drought-related bark beetle infestations. The Governor's Emergency Proclamation contains 18 distinct actions that direct state agencies, utilities and local governments to remove dead or dying trees in high hazard areas across the entire State of California.
On March 28, 2016, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency due to pervasive tree mortality in El Dorado County.
Data collected by State and federal agencies demonstrates that drought conditions and bark beetle infestation have killed over 102 million trees in the State of California, and that tens of millions more are likely to die over the next five to six years. Surveys conducted by the U.S. Forest Service in May estimate that new tree mortality (between October 2015 and May 2016) in El Dorado County has affected an estimated 512,000 conifer trees. Many of these trees are located in the Eldorado National Forest or on private land. However, some of these trees endanger County infrastructure (e.g., County roads and County buildings). In comparison, counties to the south of El Dorado County have had the following estimated number of dead co...
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