A group of Placer County Forestry Tour attendees walk away from the camera through a forest at Sugar Bowl Resort.
On June 16th, Placer Resource Conservation District had the distinct pleasure of hosting the second annual Placer County Forestry Tour. This year’s tour focused on partnership, collaboration, and recreation in the High Sierra. Attendees visited three sites: The 40 Acre Conservation League’s property in Nyack, CAL FIRE’s Emigrant Gap Demonstration State Forest in Emigrant Gap, and Sugar Bowl Resort. Each of these locations featured complex partnerships and forestry projects that aim to enhance safe recreation in the Sierra
In the morning, attendees gathered at the 40 Acre Conservation League’s property and enjoyed a welcome message from Supervisor Cindy Gustafson, followed by stage-setting from Placer County’s Director of Agriculture, Parks, and Forestry, Joshua Huntsinger. 40 Acre Conservation League President Jade Stevens kicked off the League’s portion of the tour, guiding attendees to a line of side-by-sides for quick access to the property. Darryl Lucien guided attendees throughout the property, sharing current student projects, future recreation plans, and the site of a planned Nature Center. Special note was made of contributions from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and Wildlife Conservation Board toward ongoing projects at the site.
Following the morning’s first stop, attendees ventured up the hill to the Emigrant Gap Demonstration State Forest, where CAL FIRE and Placer RCD staff highlighted the work that has been done along Lake Valley Road to improve ingress/egress for the safety of local campers and recreational users of the land. Additionally, CAL FIRE staff shared future plans for Christmas tree harvesting in and around the site, as well as fuels removal to improve snow park and sledding access opportunities off of I-80.
Finally, despite construction along I-80, the tour made it up to Sugar Bowl Resort for an overview of the Resort’s substantial fuels management efforts and trails development. Attendees walked along a bike trail separating an active fuels treatment zone from a residential neighborhood, and had the opportunity to see trees being felled to maintain the Resort’s ideal spacing of 25 feet between trees. Truckee Fire District Forester Dillon Sheedy and Sugar Bowl Sustainability Manager Meghan Lowry discussed the scope of work at Sugar Bowl Resort with support of the Resort’s current fuels reduction contractor.
While attendees enjoyed a fabulous lunch catered by Sugar Bowl Resort, Placer County Parks Administrator Erika Seward spotlighted the many partnerships at Sugar Bowl Resort by calling up speakers such as Placer County Forester Kerri Timmer, South Yuba River Citizen’s League Watershed Science Director Alecia Weisman, Truckee Donner Land Trust Executive Director John Spahn and team, and Sugar Bowl’s VP of Real Estate & Resort Development Christopher Parker.
Collaboration is a critical element of managing land for fuels reduction, safety, and recreation. We all use the land in different ways, and seeing these spaces as both a resource and an opportunity for education is critical to sustained use and safety. Placer RCD would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s Forestry Tour as either a host or an attendee, and we so look forward to next year!
