There were no March or April meetings as the ABC is deferring to the County and Forest Health Community Working Group (FHCWG) which has been hosting a series of meetings on forest health and resilience, the Community Wildfire Protection Plan etc. In the meantime, this blog will be published at least every two months or so. If you have any message that relates to the ABC mission statement that needs distributing, please let me know at dGriffith.9@gmail.com.
Prescribed Fire Workshop: In cooperation with CalFire, the FHCWG is planning a prescribed fire workshop for sometime mid-summer. It will be open to land management agencies, contractors, regulatory agencies, and interested members of the public. More information will be available in the coming months.
AnnaBelle Monti Leaving the Forest Service: Annabelle Monti is leaving the Forest Service after many years of dedicated service to the people and forests of Alpine County. She will be sorely missed. The County will be recognizing her at the Tuesday April 16th Board meeting at 9:35 am or shortly thereafter. Below is a note from her.
“After almost 15 years on the Carson Ranger District, it’s time for a change of pace for me. I’ve accepted a position with VM West, a private vegetation management company based out of Colorado. As their Chief Contracting Officer, I will be able to focus on the fun parts of what I’ve always done, just from a different perspective.
I’ve been incredibly lucky to have had the time I did with the Forest Service and in being able to work in places like Alpine County. And while the challenges have often times felt insurmountable, I feel so fortunate to have gotten to work alongside people who care.
Since I will be staying in the area, I will be in Alpine County often – you all know it’s my home away from home! Thank you for allowing me to be part of a great community, and I hope to continue that in my new position.”
Thank you Annabelle, and best of luck in your new adventure!
Arbor Day: The FHCWG is hosting the second annual Arbor Day tree planting in Alpine County. Meet at Turtle Rock Park at 9:45 am Friday April 26th for orientation, and then the planting will be focused on Curtz Lake, just up Airport Road from Turtle Rock Park. There will be lunch back at Turtle Rock Park along with discussions about the Turtle Rock Park visioning process and ongoing restoration efforts.
Tamarack Restoration: NV Environmental has reported that they have planted 160,000 trees to date on private land with an additional 30,000 trees to be planted in the fall. This includes replanting efforts supported by the Farm Services Agency and those under Alpine County’s Emergency Fire Restoration Team which has been funded by Region 5 of the Forest Service.
Tamarack Aerial Seeding: The Forest Service will begin aerial seeding of approximately 4,000 acres of the Tamarack Fire on or about April 22nd. Reseeding areas include West of Turtle Rock, the ridge above Millberry Creek, Pleasant Valley Road, Poor Boy ridge, and the Monitor Pass – Little Cottonwood Canyon and Big Springs areas. Seed mixes will include various blends of mountain big sagebrush, western yarrow, rocky mountain bee plant, prairie junegrass, Lewis flax, bottlebrush squirreltail, thickspike wheatgrass, Great Basin wildrye, Sandberg bluegrass, Antelope bitterbrush, Palmer’s penstemon, arrowleaf balsamroot, blue wildrye, Idaho fescue, mountain snowberry, and mountain brome.
Alpine Biomass Collaborative 