2017 Grants

Dotty Woolum JULY 2017

 

GRANTS

 

Since the current OTFSC Board formed 2 years ago, we have written 11 grants to state and federal agencies and to PG&E. Six of these have been funded, amounting to a total of just under a half million dollars in funding. Our 3 current grants provide landowner assistance for dealing with our serious Tree Mortality (TM and for fuels reduction. These are:

 

Tree Removal for the High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in the North Central Tulare County Sierra Foothills. A 2017 CALFIRE 2 year (3/17-3/19) TM grant for $200,000.

Our first priority target is at the community of Hartland on Eshom Valley Dr. Dead and dying trees within 300 ft of permanent structures and ingress/egress routes may be eligible for felling, bucking, masticating and removal.

 

Hwy 180 Corridor Fooothills Fuels Reduction. A 2017 PG&E grant (6/17-12/17) for $75,000.

Our first priority targets are the High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in the general area in and around the Fresno County Foothill communities of Miramonte and Pinehurst. Grant work is restricted to hazardous fuels within 1000 ft of PG&E assets.

 

Hazardous Fuels Reduction for Pinehurst and Miramonte Foothill Communities. A 2016 CALFIRE 2 year SRA grant (3/16-3/18) for $100,000.

This grant is mostly spent; the little that remains can be spent on:

a) hazardous fuels reduction within 200 ft of ingress/egress routes and

b) felling, bucking, and masticating of the slash of dead trees that are threatening permanent structures, but that are outside the 100 ft defensible space that is the homeowner’s responsibility.

 

If you have hazardous fuels and believe you qualify for help under the auspices of one or more of these grants, please contact:

Grants Coordinator & Projects Manager, Dotty Woolum 559-336-9886 dwoolum@fullerton.edu

Or, OTFSC Chair, Mahalia LoMele 559-471-6983 mahalia.lomele@oaktotimberline.org

We have far more work to do than there are funds to accomplish, but all landowner applications will be kept so that if we cannot help at this time, we will hope to do so as we apply for and receive additional grants. And please spread this information to friends and neighbors who may be in need.

OTHER HELP

 

CCC CREWS

We have also developed a cooperative agreement with the California Conservation Corps under the auspices of their Americorps Tree Mortality grant. We receive no funds in this, but are sent CCC crews to fell dead and dying trees in our service area and under our direction. This work is being done primarily on federal lands within our service area, with approval and assistance from the Sequoia National Forest Service. OTFSC Board Member Steve Orsaba is spearheading this effort.

 

FRESNO COUNTY GRANTS

Fresno County was awarded thirteen $200,000 TM grants from CALFIRE this year. Three of them were for projects in our Hwy180 corridor service area, generally in the Miramonte, Pinehurst and Upper Millwood areas. With $600,000 for tree mortality work in our area, many landowners can reasonably expect some help with their dead trees. We have been forwarding landowner contact information to Fresno County for landowners who’ve come to us for help and whom we believe may be eligible for one of the County’s grants. Ingress/egress and permanent structures are surely high priority for their TM grants, but we are not privy to the exact plans and priorities of the County’s work and schedule. Landowners are best advised to contact Fresno County’s Department of Public Works and Planning. Executive Secretary Linda R. Brosi has offered her phone for messages: 559-600-4500. If that should fail, Dotty Woolum 559-336-9886 (dwoolum@fullerton.edu) will relay any clear and concise information you send to her.

 

LOGS REMOVAL

OTFSC and our Licensed Timber Operator, Brack Welton (of Topnotch, Inc) are also exploring every opportunity to learn of uses and/or repositories for all the logs left on the ground in the TM work that has been done by ourselves, CALTRANS, Fresno County and PG&E. We hope to have more information on downed logs removal in the near future.

 

FEDERAL/STATE PROGRAMS AVAILABLE FOR LANDOWNERS’ APPLICATIONS

EQIP Environmental Quality Incentives Program in the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. D. A.

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/eqip/

 

CFIP California Forest Improvement Program of CAL FIRE

http://www.fire.ca.gov/resource_mgt/resource_mgt_forestryassistance_cfip

 

Come to the August23rd OTFSC public meeting (6pm at the Chamber building in Pinehurst) to hear EQIP staff member Robert Evans give a brief description of their program. We hope to have a presentation about CFIP then, too, or at least in the near future.