FOREST SERVICE NEWS RELEASE

U.S Forest Service, Eldorado National Forest

530 622-5061

kristi.schroeder@usda.gov

For Immediate Release

Placerville, Calif., August 7, 2024 — The Eldorado National Forest (ENF) has published the Mosquito Wildfire Resilience Project Proposed Action, beginning a 30-day scoping period. The project intends to reduce hazardous fuel conditions, salvage dead and dying trees in accessible areas, reforest, improve firefighter and public safety, and restore fire in its natural role in the ecosystem.

“The proposed actions will help to reduce the threat of future wildfires for the local communities while also restoring the ecological processes and habitat in the project area.” said Eldorado National Forest Supervisor Joe Stout.

The Mosquito Fire began on September 6, 2022, in the Tahoe National Forest near Oxbow Reservoir and spread into the Eldorado National Forest. The fire was  fully contained on October 22, 2022, after burning 76,788 acres, including 23,678 acres within the Georgetown Ranger District of the ENF.

The project area spans 105,860 acres, including lands impacted by the Mosquito Fire and nearby areas outside the burn scar. Proposed activities include the following:

• Salvage harvest, reforestation, and prescribed burning activities on approximately 2,733 acres within the Mosquito Fire burn area, including up to 100 miles of road reconstruction within the project area, and the construction of up to six temporary roads (each 300 feet or less)
• Mastication-only treatments on 122 acres
• Development and maintenance of strategic fuel breaks on 2,588 acres and maintenance of existing fuel breaks on 365 acres
• Natural fuels prescribed burning to enhance resilience in suitable areas within the 64,346 acres of National Forest System lands within the project area

As the Forest Service values public participation, we are interested in your comments related to the proposed action. To facilitate this, we are offering a virtual public meeting through an ArcGIS StoryMap, which combines maps, multimedia, and text to enhance public engagement.

• To view the Proposed Action, Story Map and supporting documents, visit the project website.

Please submit a comment if you have information that you feel the Forest Service may not be aware of or have specific comments or suggestions regarding this proposed action. To ensure your comments are fully considered during the scoping phase and are timely for objection purposes, please submit them before the end of the scoping period.

• The scoping period for this project is from August 7, 2024, through September 6, 2024, and comments can be submitted electronically.

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