HFQLG
Project Evaluation Form
Project Names: Perazzo Meadows Watershed Restoration Project
Topaz Defensible Fuel Profile Zone
Franc Defensible Fuel Profile Zone
Project Types:
Perazzo Meadows Watershed Restoration Project – Implementation of pond and plug restoration techniques to
restore a degraded meadow system in Perazzo Creek and headwaters of the Little Truckee River system.
Topaz Defensible Fuel Profile Zone – Service Contract work to create a Defensible Fuel Profile Zone.
Franc Multiproduct thin timber sale (Phoenix EIS) – Commercial timber sale including saw log and biomass
products to create a defensible fuel profile zone and implement forest restoration treatments.
Forest: Tahoe
Ranger District: Sierraville
Field Trip Date: July 26, 2011
Attendance: 26 people
Agency- 5- Dan Martynn, USDA Natural Resources Conservation District; Terri Rust, USDA Natural Resources
Conservation District; Brandon Pangman, Sierra County Planning Department; Andrew Winberry, Sierra County
Planning Department; Ann Eldred, Sierra County Planning Department.
Public – 6- Pamela Payen, Bar P Ranch; David Jaramillo, Forest Issues Group; Don Russell, Mountain Messenger
Reporter; Laurenc DeVita, Sierra County Prospect Managing Editor; John Sheehan, Plumas Fire Safe Council
and Quincy Library Group member (QLG); Tom Downing, Sierra Pacific Industries.
USFS - 13- Quentin Youngblood, Sierraville District Ranger; Walter Levings, Tahoe NF Natural Resources Staff
Officer; Randy Westmoreland, East Zoned Watershed Specialist; Craig Wilson, Sierraville Wildlife Biologist; Sam
Donahue, Assistant Fuels Officer; Roberta Lim, District Range Conservationist; Timothy Evans, Natural
Resources Staff Officer; Bruce Troedson, Timber Management Officer; Terri Simon-Jackson, Plumas NF
Planning Staff Officer; Jeff Watson, Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group (HFQLG) Management Analyst;
Colin Dillingham, HFQLG Monitoring Team Leader; Steve Weaver, Sierraville Culturist; Anita Thompson,
Sierraville Ranger District Culturist trainee.
Type of treatment and acres:
Perazzo Meadows Watershed Restoration Project – 285 acres of high elevation meadow restoration including
approximately 4 miles of restored channel network. The pond and plug project was implemented to eliminate the
actively eroding stream channel and restore meadow hydrology.
Topaz Defensible Fuel Profile Zone – 900 acre project, including the following treatments; mastication, chainsaw
thin and grapple pile treatments. The thinning project had an upper diameter limit of 11 inches diameter at
breast height and no sawlogs or biomass was produced.
Franc Multiproduct thin timber sale (Phoenix EIS) – Thinning prescription, i.e. removing the smaller diameter
trees and retaining the larger trees (>30” DBH); retention of minimum of 40% canopy closure and treatment of
fuels with a follow-up underburn to reduce excessive residual surface fuels to create a Defensible Fuel Profile
Zone (DFPZ) on 702 acres in Sierraville Wildland Urban Interface. Group selection will be implemented as
directed in the HFQLG Act to achieve an all-aged mosaic of timber stands with preference to shade intolerant
species, while contributing to the local economy through a sustainable output of forest products on 75 acres. All
trees greater than 30 inches are retained. This commercial timber sale was sold to Sierra Pacific Industries at a
total value of $159,000 or approximately $204 per acre was paid to the United States government to accomplish
the fuel reduction and forest restoration project.
Resource
Area
Hydrology,
Perazzo
Meadows
Range,
Perazzo
Meadows
Wildlife,
Perazzo
Meadows
Attribute
Objective
Hydrological
Function
Restore watershed
function to
meadow and
historical channels
Environmental
Assessment
(EA)
Vegetation
Recovery
Improve
vegetation
conditions with
proper cattle
grazing
EA and Grazing
Permit
Willow
Flycatcher
Silviculture,
Topaz
Project
Forest Health
Wildlife,
Topaz
Project
Downed Logs
Improve habitat
for willow
flycatcher
Thin overstocked
conifer trees
Maintain 3 logs per
acre over 12 inches
Source of
Objective
SNFPA, 2004
Objectives
Met?
Yes
Yes
Yes,
expected to
be
successful
Topaz EA
Yes
Topaz EA
Some areas
Topaz EA
Yes, but
planned
follow-up
necessary
Create defensible
space in Wildland
Urban Interface
Phoenix EIS
Partial,
follow-up
treatment
needed
Site
Protection
Prevent impacts to
historical saw mill
site
Phoenix EIS
Yes
Restore
ecosystem in
economically
viable
method
Restore project
area utilizing a
method that pays
the taxpayer rather
than be a taxpayer
burden
Phoenix EIS
Yes
Fire,
Topaz
Project
Fuels
Reduction
Create a Defensible
Fuel Profile Zone
(DFPZ)
Fire,
Franc
Project
Fuels
Reduction
Archaeology,
Franc
Project
Economics,
Franc
Project
Comments
Numerous historical
channels running for
first time in perhaps 100
years, wet meadow
system restored.
Cattle management
considered during
vegetation recovery
Texas A & M University
monitoring project
ended in 2010. District is
pursuing additional
funds for continuation of
monitoring.
Conifer thinning project is
expected to decrease risk
of insects and disease to
residual stand
Few logs exist
pretreatment, all largest
logs (over 20 inches
diameter) seen were not
in grapple piles. Several
logs in 12 – 16 inch size
class under piles or in
piles, but overall fairly
good retention
The mechanical fuels
reduction project met
objectives, but a followup grapple pile burn is
necessary to complete
the functionality of the
DFPZ.
Canopy and ladder fuels
reduced, heavy surface
fuel loading will require
follow-up treatment to
make DFPZ complete.
Site protected with no
equipment entry control
area
The Franc project was a
commercial timber sale
producing funds for the
Federal Government and
providing biomass and
sawlogs to the Sierra
Pacific Industries Mill in
Quincy
Perazzo Meadow Restoration Project:
Perazzo Meadow Overlook - The first stop
was at an overview of the Perazzo Meadow
System where District Ranger Quentin
Youngblood discussed the value of the HergerFeinstein Quincy Library Group (HFQLG)
Forest Recovery Act. He explained that the
stable source of funds was used to accomplish a
wide variety of watershed restoration, fuel
reduction and forest health and restoration
projects over the past decade.
Perazzo Meadow Overlook - Watershed
Specialist Randy Westmoreland presented the
pre-project condition and explained why the
project was needed. The meadow system was
ditched in the 1800’s when Perazzo Meadow
sustained a dairy operation. This project was
designed to restore watershed functionality by
restoration of the down cut drainage and the
enhancement of the flood plain. U.C. Merced is
conducting monitoring at the site. There is
initial data displaying that the water
temperature has decreased, providing a benefit
to aquatic species.
Perazzo Meadow Overlook – Local
resident Laurenc DeVita asked questions
regarding how the tree stocking might
have changed since the wetlands were
drained in the 1800s. He suggested that
the additional transpiration from the
overstocked conditions might be further
impacting the water delivery to
downstream users. Walter Levings (not
shown) agreed that the forests are much
denser than in historical conditions.
Perazzo Meadow Overlook – Local
rancher Pamela Payen and John Sheehan
discuss the Sierra County Resolution which
requires a high level of coordination with
the County, land owners, water users and
federal projects. District Ranger Quentin
Youngblood explained his commitment to
the Sierra Valley Mutual Water Company
in postponing any future restoration until
validation monitoring is completed over
the next 3-5 years and yields positive
results.
Perazzo Meadows Second Stop–
Roberta Lim, Sierraville Ranger District
Range Conservationist, discusses the
watershed restoration project and how
cooperation with the cattle grazing
permittee is critical during planning and
implementation. Tonya Russell, Perazzo
Allotment Permittee has been an excellent
partner.
Perazzo Meadow Restoration Project
(continued):
Perazzo Meadows– Wildlife Biologist Craig Wilson
discussed willow flycatcher habitat requirements and
importance of the Perazzo Meadow system. Although
the flycatcher demography study ended in 2010,
preliminary surveys by the flycatcher researcher
indicated that the distribution of the willow flycatcher
appears to have increased.
Perazzo Meadows– This photo shows a plug in
the center of the photograph between the willows,
and with water flowing over it. Plugs are basically
an area where the eroded channel has been filled
with material to bring the water level back up to the
flood plain. Downstream (at photo right) the photo
illustrates the pond, which is a result of the area
where the excavation occurred to provide fill
material to create the plug. The photo also
illustrates how high the water level is in the meadow
system on July 26, 2011, far wetter than field trip
attendees have seen this system in the past 15 – 35
year history they could recollect.
Perazzo Meadows third stop– Randy Westmoreland explained that there was a breach with 3 plugs
that required some repairs. The repair consisted of tapering the plug down below the level of the
downstream pond and armoring the plug with rock to prevent a head cut from running through the
plug. Perazzo Creek has a bend immediately upstream of this plug which was dammed by beavers
during the winter. The beaver dam created more pressure on this plug than in many other areas of the
project and therefore resulted in the breach.
Topaz Defensible Fuel Profile Zone project:
Topaz project– Culturist Steve Weaver assures District Ranger Quentin Youngblood that he really is
going to retire this week after 42 years of service on the Sierraville Ranger District before he explains to
the group the purpose of the Topaz Defensible Fuel Profile Zone project. Weaver explained that the
treatment was a several step process. First fallers walk through the stand and cut trees under 11 inches
diameter shown in the photo above right. Next the grapple-pile machine piles the limbs (photo below).
Topaz project– Field trip attendees saw firsthand
how the grapple pile machinery piled the cut trees.
Weaver also explained how in areas with Manzanita
and Ceanothus the machine rips the shrubs out of
the ground and adds the brush to the burn piles.
Forest Issues member Dave Jaramillo asked why
machinery was used instead of hand crews to create
the piles. He felt the amount of soil disturbance was
unacceptable and thought the trees could easily be
piled by hand crews and would employ more people
instead of using expensive equipment. Weaver said
it was mostly a matter of economics: a grapple pile
contract costs roughly $300 per acre while a hand
crew does similar work for $1000 per acre. In
addition, hand crews make more, smaller piles,
which is more expensive to burn.
Franc Multiproduct Thin timber sale project:
Franc project– Timber Management Officer Bruce
Troedson presented an overview of the Franc
Project. We viewed one harvest unit which had been
thinned to remove smaller trees while retaining the
larger trees. Fuels Officer Sam Donahue explained
that a grapple pile contract will be required prior to
underburning because the fuel loading is 60 – 100
tons per acre and conducting an underburn would
likely kill the remaining trees. Bruce Troedson
walked the group out to the protected riparian area
and explained that the outer portion of the riparian
area was thinned to protect the riparian site. Forest
Issues Group member David Jaramillo said he
thought the thinning was an improvement to forest
conditions, but also said he thought it was very
important to implement the underburn for forest
health reasons.
Follow up actions:
Perazzo Meadows Watershed Restoration Project
1) Monitoring of water flow/hydrology response to restoration project for 3-5 years to determine
potential effects of project to downstream users
2) Monitoring of Willow Flycatcher response to restoration project
Topaz Defensible Fuel Profile Zone
1) Burn grapple piles
2) Consider under burning to complete Defensible Fuel Profile Zone
Franc Defensible Fuel Profile Zone
1) Grapple piling of dense down wood
2) Under burning to complete Defensible Fuel Profile Zone
HFQLG Monitoring Team Leader: /s/
Colin Dillingham
Reviewed by Sierraville District Ranger:
Date: July 28, 2011
/s/ Quentin Youngblood
Date: July 30, 2011