King Fire Restoration Newsletter

The plannng team for the King Fire Restoration Project has reviewed the public comments that were expressed in approximately 60 letters and in person during the January 13 public open house. Based on the comments received, seven key issues have been identified which have guided the development of alternatives to the proposed action.

The team has outlined three alternatives in addition to the proposed action and the no action alternative. In depth analysis of these alternatives is now in progress.

A summary of the alternatives and estimated acreage is as follows:

Alternative 1 - No Action - 0 acres
Alternative 2 - Proposed Action - 17,227 acres
Alternative 3 - 13,549 acres
Alternative 4 - 22,097 acres
Alternative 5 - 17,227 acres with reduced herbicide

The public is invited to PREVIEW the maps of the alternatives and to ask questions of the planning team and guest speakers during a panel discussion on Wednesday, March 25, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Best Western Plus Placerville Inn .

Note: Final acreage for the alternatives may change slightly and will not be available until the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is released.

Seven Key Issues

Based on the public comments received, these are the key issues that have been identified for the King Fire Restoration Project:

(1) Owl Habitat. The proposed salvage harvest in California spotted owl (CSO) territories would impact CSO foraging habitat and lead to loss of occupancy.

(2) Fuel Load. Leaving large portions of the fire untreated results in a dangerously high fuel load in the form of snags and later brush growth and a high risk of future wildfire impacting private land, communities, and forest resources.

(3) Carbon Dioxide Emissions. The proposed action fails to remove sufficient dead trees to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and plant sufficient new ones to increase carbon dioxide absorption, resulting in net carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere.

(4) Species Diversity. Tree planting and herbicides will adversely impact the composition of early successional shrub, forb, and grass species of the post-fire habitat, thereby impacting the many species which require complex early seral forest.

(5) Snag Retention. The proposed action will adversely affect black backed woodpeckers and secondary cavity nesters by removing important intensely burned habitat created by the fire.

(6) Water Resources.The proposed action has insufficient protection for water quality and aquatic habitat by proposing herbicides within Riparian Conservation Areas and permitting log skidding within 150' of perennial and intermittent streams.

(7) Natural Recovery. There is no ecological or economic justification to salvage log areas that burned at mixed severity within the Natural Range of Variation (NRV).

Leading the Team

Timber Management Officer Pat Ferrell is the Team Leader for the King Fire Restoration Project. During her 36 year career with the U.S. Forest Service, Pat has led similar post-fire restoration projects after the 2004 Power Fire and the 2001 Star Fire.

Rubicon Prescribed Fire Added to Project

Although the original proposed action treated approximately 14,000 acres of national forest system (NFS) land overall, the proposed action will now treat approximately 17,000 acres. This difference in acreage proposed for treatment is primarily due to a prescribed fire component in the Rubicon Canyon that was added to all of the alternatives. Prescribed fire would be applied using helicopter lighting methods in an area on the south slope of the Rubicon Canyon for a total of 2,841 acres. It is estimated that this treatment would be applied in 5-7 years to break up the continuity of shrubs and fuel on this slope.

How Many Dead Trees? - It's All About Severity

Almost all trees were killed on about 47% of the King Fire burned area, including approximately 29,000 acres on the Eldorado National Forest. These high severity areas, where tree mortality is 90% or greater, are the focus of the tree salvage effort, however much of the high severity is in the steep terrain of the Rubicon canyon where logging operations would be dangerous and costly.

Many trees survived where the King Fire burned less intensely on about 41% of the fire area, including approximately 26,000 acres on the Eldorado National Forest. These areas are expected to recover naturally and will promote biodiversity due to the variation in habitat created by the fire.

KING FIRE SEVERITY - SUMMARY

Low Severity - 0 to 25% trees killed = 41%
Moderate Severity - 25% to 90% trees killed = 12%
High Severity - >90% trees killed = 47%

Please join us on Wednesday evening, March 25 to discuss the key issues that have been used to develop alternatives for the King Fire Restoration Project. This is an opportunity to see the planning team's work in progress and to become familiar with the alternatives that will be presented again in mid-April with a complete analysis when the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is released. At that time, there will be another formal comment period, although we welcome your comments at anytime.

Thank you for your interest in the Eldorado National Forest.

Sincerely,

Laurence Crabtree

Forest Supervisor