Trinity County Title III Firewise Noxious Weeds and Chipping - Weaverville Area

The Trinity County Resource Conservation District (the District) plans to implement fuels reduction activities in the form of roadside chipping and noxious weed removal on private properties within the community of Weaverville, Trinity County, CA. This project comprises of multiple private ownerships that are an integral part of the District’s landscape fuel reduction strategy and Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), aimed at protecting the community of Weaverville from catastrophic wildfire events. The District plans to implement approximately 100 acres of community chipping for private landowners and approximately 5 acres manual noxious weed removal treatments for the Young Family Ranch property. The primary goal of this project is to continue support for Firewise Communities and reduce risk of catastrophic wildfires in priority CWPP areas. Our objectives include: reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, increasing water yields, and encouraging the return of native vegetation by reducing non-native invasive plants. This will be accomplished using towable chipping and hand-pulling of target noxious weeds (e.g., scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) and Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus)) as the primary fuels reduction treatments. Private landowners will pile woody residue (e.g. branches, limbs, log pieces under 10” dbh) along roadways and driveways. Cut materials will bucked (if needed) and carried to the chipper then chipped and broadcasted on site. Any remaining material that cannot be chipped will be lop-and-scattered on site. Technicians will identify noxious weeds on the and remove via hand tools. Weed residue will be properly disposed. This project will help actively manage the land with no adverse impacts, creating a landscape that is more resilient and resistant to high intensity wildfires.