Nevada and Placer County Cooperative Landscape Resilience Project (SPI Mastication)

The project consists of herbicide application with follow-up mechanical mastication of shrubs and small-diameter conifers less than 10 inches DBH across approximately 571 acres of SPI-managed timberlands. The primary objective is to eliminate the continuity of surface and ladder fuels, reduce the risk of crown fire, and create a more resilient, fire-adapted forest condition. Mastication will target brush and sub-canopy conifers to break vertical fuel continuity and raise canopy base height, which will reduce potential fire intensity and severity. Retention of healthy, dominant overstory trees will be prioritized to maintain canopy cover and stand vigor. Select dead or dying trees that present a hazard to operations or public safety will be removed regardless of size, while snags suitable for wildlife habitat will be retained wherever safe to do so. The project area consists of actively managed commercial forestlands and represents a critical component of the Truckee Fire Protection District’s landscape-scale strategy to restore forest health and reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire within the Truckee–Tahoe Wildland Urban Interface. Treatments are designed to improve stand structure, reduce excessive surface and ladder fuels, release crop trees, and enhance long-term forest productivity and carbon sequestration. The project is strategically located adjacent to large-scale federal forest management projects, ensuring landscape-level connectivity of fuel reduction treatments. This placement will help slow the spread of wildfire, provide safer access for suppression resources, and improve protection of life, property, and infrastructure for nearby communities.