Mooretown Tribal Landscape Cultural Fire Project

The Mooretown Tribal Landscape Cultural Fire Project is a culturally driven land management initiative led by the Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California, in coordination with the Butte County Resource Conservation District, to restore ecological balance and cultural traditions in an area devastated by the 2020 North Complex Fire. The project targets 38 designated subunits across Federal and potentially adjacent private lands in Butte County, where widespread even-aged brush has replaced native vegetation following near-total tree mortality. The goal is to reestablish an uneven-aged mosaic of vegetation through controlled broadcast burns conducted annually between August 16 and January 31, avoiding the bird nesting season from February 1 to August 15. To support this, crews will construct approximately 3.2 miles of permanent fireline corridors, each three feet wide, using manual and non-ground-disturbing mechanical tools to clear vegetation and scrape down to bare mineral soil, resulting in a total disturbance of 1.16 acres. These firelines are designed as long-term infrastructure to facilitate repeated burns as part of a sustainable cultural stewardship strategy. Work is restricted to avoid riparian areas with a mandatory 100-foot buffer around streams, prohibits the use of hazardous materials, and requires pre-burn nesting bird surveys, cultural resource assessments, and coordination with the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer. All burning activities follow CEQA categorical exemptions and require permits from CAL FIRE and the Butte County Air Quality Management District. Monitoring and acceptance occur on-site, with oversight shared among the Tribe, the Resource Conservation District, and regulatory agencies including the Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Bureau of Land Management. While no formal contract value, pricing structure, or federal solicitation number is provided, the project is supported by state grants and federal co-stewardship agreements, with all operations strictly adherence to environmental best practices and cultural protocols.