Placer Supervisors approve enhanced forest health, wildfire resilience framework

The Placer County Board of Supervisors took a significant step toward a safer future July 9 by approving a framework for the Placer County Regional Forest Health 10-year Countywide Action Plan. The plan prioritizes forest health and wildfire resiliency, aiming to better protect communities in Placer County's forested and wildland-bordering areas. "This plan represents the next decade of dedicated work to safeguard our communities," said Placer County Director of Agriculture, Parks and Natural Resources Josh Huntsinger. "It's a roadmap for integrating forest health practices into the fabric of our communities." The approval comes after a presentation by Kerri Timmer, regional forest health division coordinator for the Placer County Department of Agriculture, Parks and Natural Resources. Timmer's presentation outlined how the plan identifies strategic locations and treatment methods to bolster community safety and forest health. Timmer highlighted that Placer has nearly 650,000 acres of forested areas across private, state, federal and local-government-owned land that could benefit from treatment. Most of the forest is overgrown with vegetation and vulnerable to wildfire. The cost to treat all 650,000 acres the plan identified would total more than $1.6 billion. But the action plan identifies the highest priority and most beneficial projects to focus on first, swiftly and strategically reducing wildfire risk with the best protection for the dollar. Those include 31 forest treatment projects between the Sierra Nevada foothills and North Lake Tahoe at a total estimated cost of $49.5 million. "Ultimately, this action plan aligns with the board's directives for forest and wildfire resilience planning," said Timmer. "It directly contributes to the county's critical goal of balanced land use, planning and environmental stewardship." Public input played a crucial role in shaping the plan. Through four public meetings, an online survey and insights from a steering committee composed of fire districts, Placer County fire safe councils and industry professionals, eight key priorities were established. Ranked in order of importance, these priorities are: Safety Assets (homes, infrastructure) Water resources Recreational areas History/Knowledge (culturally and historically significant sites and resources) Biodiversity Ecological commodities Carbon "I commend our Regional Forest Health Division for crafting such a thoughtful and strategic plan," said Placer County District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson. "The board is fully committed to equipping Placer County for wildfire prevention and mitigation." With the prioritized framework in place, county staff will leverage Land Tender, a collaborative platform designed to support forest management and wildfire risk mitigation efforts. Land Tender will be instrumental in implementing the action plan. "Land Tender is a game-changer in our forest health approach," explained Timmer. "This program allows us to strategically prioritize, adapt and scale mitigation efforts efficiently, saving both time and taxpayer resources." The plan will be implemented in three phases. Phase 1 focuses on utilizing the framework to create large-scale, collaborative forest health projects and partnerships, including securing necessary permits and grant funding. Phase 2 empowers local partners like fire safe councils to design projects using Land Tender, considering both their own priorities and alignment with the countywide framework. Phase 3 leverages the countywide plan to collaborate with neighboring counties, advocating for joint leadership at the state and federal levels to secure resources and policies that support inter-jurisdictional wildfire mitigation efforts. Visit the Placer County Regional Forest Health website, placer.ca.gov/9582/Regional-Forest-Health, to learn more.