Mill Creek Road Shaded Fuel Break
Summary
SCH Number
2022020337
Public Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CAL FIRE)
Document Title
Mill Creek Road Shaded Fuel Break
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
2/15/2022
Document Description
The purpose of this project is to improve the ingress and egress of civilians and fire engines, reduce wildfire risk, and aid in fire suppression activities through roadside fuel reduction treatment along 5.8 miles of road (70 acres), approximately 5 miles east of the town of Ukiah. The project area consists of oak woodland intermixed with conifers and dense brush. Vegetation will be thinned and pruned within the road right-of-way up to 50 feet from either side of Mill Creek Road. Work will be completed using manual treatment methods and an excavator with masticator attachment. Woody materials will be lopped and scattered and/or dragged by hand to a chipper parked on the existing roadway. Portions of the project will be masticated by the excavator operating from the roadway. No off-road heavy equipment or ground disturbance is proposed for this project. All mastication activities will be limited to the maximum reach the excavator’s boom and arm can attain without necessitating the tracks to leave the roadway. The masticator will be hovered above the ground to avoid direct contact with ground and eliminate ground disturbance. Hand crews will employ chainsaws, pole saws, string-trimmers, and hand tools to remove small trees, brush, and surface/ground fuels. Live trees, less than 10” diameter breast height (DBH), will be felled to improve tree spacing. Dead trees of any size that pose a safety hazard to the roadway, civilians, or firefighters will be felled. Live trees of any size severely overhanging the roadway will also be felled. All felled trees will be, limbed, bucked and then the rounds would be stacked neatly on site. If the tree is of a considerable size, it will be bucked to 8-foot sections and left on site. Live trees greater than 10” DBH will be pruned to provide for a minimum vertical clearance of 10 feet.
Contact Information
Name
Pablo Anguiano
Agency Name
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Job Title
Forestry Assistant II
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Counties
Mendocino
Regions
Countywide
Cross Streets
Mill Creek road
Total Acres
70
Other Location Info
Portions of T15N R12W Sec 25 & 36, T15N R11W S 31, T14N R11W Sec 4, 5, & 6 MDBM.
Other Information
Approximately 5 miles east of the town of Ukiah
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 4 § 15304 Minor Alterations to Land
Reasons for Exemption
The project meets the requirements of a CEQA Article 19 Class 4 Categorical exemption “Minor Alterations to Land” (Section 15304, Public Resources Code) as the proposed fuel management activities entail brush removal, 10 “DBH or less tree removal, thinning, pruning, chipping, masticating from existing roadway, and dead/tree removal to improve access of fire engines and reduce volume of flammable vegetation. As such, CAL FIRE has concluded that no significant environmental impact would occur to aesthetics, agriculture and forestland/timberland, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, energy, and geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use planning, mineral resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation/traffic, utilities and service systems, or to wildfire. No exceptions apply (Section 15300.2) which would preclude the use of a Notice of Exemption for this project. Documentation of the environmental review completed by the Department is kept on file at CAL FIRE Mendocino Unit, Resource Management, 17501 N. Highway 101, Willits, CA 95490, Attn. Environmental Coordinator.