Lake Valley Fire Department gets $26,000 grant for forest health in Meyers

The Lake Valley Fire Department was given a $26,000 grant to clear brush and hazard trees from a 6.5 acre parcel in Meyers. The grant was given by the Forest Service to help reduce the risk of wildfire in Meyers.

The parcel is owned by the California Tahoe Conservancy across from the Tahoe Pine Campground.

“Protecting local communities by funding fuels reduction work on nonfederal lands is a Forest Service priority,” said Nancy Gibson, Forest Supervisor for the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. “This federal grant funding will allow the Lake Valley Fire Protection District and the California Tahoe Conservancy to reduce wildfire risk in the neighborhood, and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our own fuels treatments.”

The U.S. Forest Service Non-Federal Lands Grants support fuel reduction work on parcels adjacent to Forest Service land that has been or will be treated. The same contractor, CTL Forest Management, will be working on both the Conservancy property and adjacent Forest Service land, reducing the overall cost to the agencies.

"The multitude of land owners and land managers in the Basin can sometimes cause challenges implementing forest health treatments," says Gareth Harris, Fire Chief at LVFPD. "This grant allows our partners to save time and money and treat a larger area."

The project, scheduled for completion in September, will remove many of the lodgepole pines felled by a prior flood. CTL Forest Management will thin overgrown trees on the adjacent Forest Service properties as part of the South Shore Fuel Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration project.

"The future of grant funding relies on collaboration," said Conservancy Executive Director Patrick Wright. "All of our agencies work together to collectively protect and preserve Lake Tahoe."

The left side of the picture shows the California Tahoe Conservancy’s North Upper Truckee unit prior to forest thinning work completed by the Lake Valley Fire Protection District using U.S. Forest Service grant funds for work on nonfederal lands. Photo Credits: California Tahoe Conservancy (before) and Lake Valley Fire Protection District (after).