Saddle Mountain

The Fall River Resource Conservation District has proposed Saddle Mountain Project in Shasta County, California. The project would improve the protection of structures, communities, critical infrastructure, and public and private lands from wildfire while protecting environmental, natural and cultural resources. The project would reduce fuel loads in a mixed hardwood and conifer forest. fuels reduction treatments would include prescribed fire as well as hand curing and piling, mechanical fuels reduction (grapple pilin,), herbicide, prescribed herbivory, and mastication. Methods would also include the use of mechanical and hand tools for site preparation and ignition devices for broadcast burning. Existing roads and trails will be utilized for control lines to avoid ground disturbing impacts to the extent feasible. Heavy equipment may also be used to created and hold fire lines. Maintenance methods would include hand treatment, mastication, broadcast burning, targeted grazing, and herbicide application. Broadcast burning would be used on a frequency to approximate the historical fire regime, while herbicide would be used to reduce the density and continuity of resprouting brush and to control invasive, non-native weeds.