Auburn, ca (mpg) – On August 19, the supervisory authority of the Placer County approved $ 1.6 million in contract price contracts to complete the French Meadows Ecological Forest Restoration Project.
The board authorized the director of agriculture, parks and natural resources to carry out the following agreements:
ACRES Land Management LLC – 1,504,950 USD for the restoration services for thinning and meadow restoration services from August 19 to December 31, 2026.
McKellar Tree Service and Logging, Inc. – $ 163,750 for mastication services in the same period.
From 2019, the district managed the part of the public country of the French Meadow Ecological Forest Restoration Project to improve the health states of the forest and the resilience of the forest fire in 22,000 hectares of national forest system areas within Placer County.
After a thorough assessment, it was found that about 7,200 hectares had to be treated in order to achieve the forest health goals. So far, the project has completed around 80% of this work.
The assigned orders cover the remaining morning that is necessary to complete the project. It is expected that some work will begin in the 2025 season, with most activities completed by the end of the 2026 season.
“This investment is another milestone in the French Meadows partnership and our collective efforts to make the Sierra forests more resistant,” said Kerri Timmer, coordinator for regional forest health in Placer County. “Due to the thinning of overgrown areas and the reduction of dangerous fuels, we not only reduce the risk of a catastrophic running fire, but also protect the water supply, the habitat for wild animals and the communities that depend on them.”
The ACRES Land Management Agreement is supported by $ 1,082,745 from the Waldfire Recovery and Forest Resilience Grant Program of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, $ 45,978 from a separate SNC SUB Award and $ 376,227 from previously preserved wood and biomass income.
The McKellar Tree Service and the protocol agreement are fully financed by a scholarship approved by the board in July 2022.
Currently, a total of 1,061,625 USD are available in the 2025-26 budget for the regional forest health SRF. A change in household in the amount of USD 607,075 is processed in order to increase the funds for the remaining costs. The general fund of the district will have no additional effects.
The project is a collaboration between Placer County, Tahoe National Forest, Placer County Water Agency and Regional Partners, including The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, American River Conservancy and the Sierra Nevada Research Institute from Merced.
The aim is to restore the resilience of the forests and reduce the risk of severe forest fires that threaten the habitat of the wild animals, water and power supplies as well as the natural resources for the residents of Placer County and downstream communities.