Public comment sought on USFS-Liberty Utilities plan to thin forests around power lines

Submitted by paula on Sat, 04/20/2019 - 7:00am

Liberty Utilities and the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) are working together on a proposal to reduce the risk of unwanted wildfires on approximately 6,300 acres of forest in the Lake Tahoe Basin along 55 miles of power line corridors.

The Liberty Utilities Resilience Corridors Project would help create healthier and more resilient forests while reducing the risk of unwanted wildfires that could ignite either from vegetation coming in contact with utility infrastructure or failures of infrastructure.

They are seeking comment from the public on the proposal by May 19, 30 days after they published the proposal in the media.

Work could begin as early as late summer 2019 and would be conducted primarily between June and the end of October, though some operations could take place over the snow when feasible.

“We are proud to build on our existing partnership with Liberty Utilities and our shared commitment of reducing threats to critical infrastructure and increasing landscape resilience,” said LTBMU Forest Supervisor, Jeff Marsolais.

The project consists of vegetation treatments in forested corridors adjacent to Liberty’s power lines and would occur in untreated areas as well as connect previously treated areas. Treatment options would include forest thinning, removal of hazardous, diseased or insect-infected trees and prescribed burning.

Treatments will follow the LTBMU Land Management Plan guidelines and would include best management practices and resource protection measures compliant with the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board and environmental thresholds set by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Treatment methods may include forest thinning using hand and mechanical equipment, cable yarding and prescribed fire operations that involve pile and understory burning. These types of mechanical operations generally require closure of the project area during operations due to the hazards posed by heavy equipment and falling trees. The Forest Service will send out updates to inform the public of possible impacts to trails or recreation areas.

The proposed action and scoping letter with instructions on how to comment are available at https://go.usa.gov/xmgxT.