Avery Plantation Fuels Reduction

It is the intent of the County of Calaveras (“County”) to receive proposals from qualified Contractors to reduce hazardous fuels at the Avery Pine Plantation, which is approximately 32 years old, having been established after the 1992 Old Gulch Fire. This 234-acre plantation is in Avery, CA west of Hwy 4 and south of Avery Sheep Ranch Road on USFS land. The stand is inside the Arnold/Avery WUI, 168 acres in the Defense Zone and 66 acres in the Threat Zone. It is comprised of Ponderosa pine with small numbers of Douglas-fir, incense cedar and oaks. Over the past 30 years, there have been two mechanical thins accompanied by pruning, but today, the stand is in need of brush mastication and hand pruning to restore forest health and resilience to wildfire. The primary goal of the project is to improve forest health by reducing ground and ladder fuels. This stand is part of the Arnold-Avery Fuelbreak and an important segment of the Hwy 4 Wildfire Defense System which provides protection to 9,000 residences from Murphys to Camp Connell. The primary objectives of this Project are (1) to mechanically reduce the underbrush for forest health and fire resistance, (2) prune the residual trees and grind the slash, or remove as biomass, and (3) spread the shreds and chips evenly across the landscape to suppress the regrowth of brush, control erosion, and conserve soil moisture. Additionally, dead and dying trees and hazard trees may be cut and masticated or removed for biomass. The Project is divided into two bid items based on their current state of maintenance. Item #1 is comprised of four treatment units totaling 144 acres requiring pruning of residual trees and mechanical mastication. Item #2 is comprised of three treatment units (90 acres) which were thinned in 2023 and require only pruning followed by lop and scatter of pruned limbs under the current Project.