Sierra Institute
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Staff and Board
    • Field Staff
    • Sierra Institute History
    • About Indian Valley
  • What We Do
    • Community Based Natural Resource Management
      • West Shore Project
    • Rural Community Development
      • Disadvantaged Community and Tribal Involvement Program
      • Community Build
      • Sierra Forest Entrepreneurs Program
    • Wood Utilization
      • Mass Timber Housing
      • Biomass Heat
      • Indian Valley Wood Utilization Campus
    • Collaborative Groups
      • Sierra to California All-Lands Enhancement (SCALE)
      • South Lassen Watersheds Group
      • Lake Almanor Watershed Group
      • Burney Hat Creek Community Forest and Watershed Group
    • Youth Stewardship
      • P-CREWPlumas Conservation, Restoration, & Education in Watersheds
        Plumas Conservation, Restoration, & Education in Watersheds
  • Job Opportunities
  • Learn More
    • Publications
    • Media
  • News & Updates
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Staff and Board
    • Field Staff
    • Sierra Institute History
    • About Indian Valley
  • What We Do
    • Community Based Natural Resource Management
      • West Shore Project
      • Adult Restoration Crews
    • Rural Community Development
      • Disadvantaged Community and Tribal Involvement Program
      • Community Build
      • Sierra Forest Entrepreneurs Program
      • Socioeconomic Monitoring
      • Sierra Fellows
    • Wood Utilization
      • Mass Timber Housing
      • Biomass Heat
      • Indian Valley Wood Utilization Campus
    • Collaborative Groups
      • Sierra to California All-Lands Enhancement (SCALE)
      • South Lassen Watersheds Group
      • Lake Almanor Watershed Group
      • Burney Hat Creek Community Forest and Watershed Group
    • Youth Stewardship
      • P-CREW
      • Natural Resource Education
  • Job Opportunities
  • Learn More
    • Publications
    • Media
  • News & Updates
  • Get Involved
    • Donate

Youth Support Wildland Urban Interface Fuels Reduction Efforts in Butterfly Valley

May 25, 2021  |  By Sierra Institute Blogs

Last summer, in 2020, the Sierra Institute for Community & Environment youth crew, Plumas Conservation Restoration and Education in Watersheds (P-CREW) worked in Butterfly Valley, CA. This 500-acre valley is managed by the Plumas National Forest and is home to the Butterfly Botanical Area which was designated in 1976 as a protected area due to its remarkable and diverse plant life, which includes pitcher plants and other novel species. 

Intermingled in the forested landscape and botanical gardens that make up Butterfly Valley is a community of houses, farms, gardens, and community life. This makes Butterfly Valley an important Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) in the greater Quincy community. A WUI is a zone of transition between built community spaces with structures and uninhabited land. As the U.S. Fire Administration states, “It is the line, area, or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels.” 

Wildland Urban Interface areas are specifically at risk of being hit with high-intensity wildfire and the potential loss of homes, due to the nature of heavy fuel loads so close to human structures.Thus,  fuels reduction and forest health measures in these areas are of special interest to both governmental and local agencies, along with private landowners and other stakeholders to protect natural habitat and human settlements. 

Funded by the National Forest Foundation’s Matching Awards Program, P-CREW was able to work two and half weeks in the summer of 2020, reducing fuel loads to improve forest health and reduce the risk of structural and high-intensity fire in the WUI of Butterfly Valley. 

A total of 24 urban and rural teen crew members and 4  crew leaders, worked on the project over the course of the summer. They created burn piles through hand thinning and piling trees less than 14 inches in diameter, and removed downed trees from the forest floor. 

By supporting fuel reduction efforts and thus supporting forest health and fire management efforts this project also supported the protection of sensitive native plants, animal species, cultural resources, and water quality for the Feather River Watershed. 

While the teen crews helped reduce the threat of high-intensity wildfire in a Wildland Urban Interface, they also learned the importance of the project from the Plumas National Forest Fuels Planner. This boots-on-the-ground experience taught them the different aspects of fire science and the various effects, both positive and negative, that fire has on our forest and ecosystem health as well as different management techniques.

A big thank you to the National Forest Foundation for providing the funds to make this project a reality and a success. In total, our 2020 P-CREW season supplemented 451 burn piles, built 34 new burn piles, cleared 130,000 square feet of material, and created 20-foot buffer zones on either side of 5,230 plus feet of road and property line in Butterfly Valley. They also enjoyed cold sports drinks, delicious tuna salad and dozens of homemade cookies from an appreciative neighbor.

Our 2021 season of P-CREW is just around the corner. Season 1 starts on June 14th. To find out more about P-CREW check out our website at https://pcrew.sierrainstitute.us/. 

Previous StoryEarth Day Reflections by Spencer Lachman
Next StoryRISE-ing Up To The Challenge

Related Articles

  • Reinvesting in Working Forests, Business by Business
  • Forest Products for Forest Communities

Sierra Institute on Instragram

Please check the widget data

Popular Posts

  • Day-1_Walking-Tour_Gville-Museum
    Sustainability Institute 2018: Part One Wednesday, 14, Feb
  • Native Plant Propagation: A New Collaborative and a Novice Horticulturist Friday, 9, Apr
  • Youth Support Wildland Urban Interface Fuels Reduction Efforts in Butterfly Valley Tuesday, 25, May
  • Earth Day Reflections by Spencer Lachman Thursday, 22, Apr
  • How Has the Dixie Fire Affected Sierra Institute’s Work? Wednesday, 13, Oct
  • Reinvesting in Working Forests, Business by Business Thursday, 4, Nov

Categories

Tags

beauty Biomass California climate change Collaboration collaborative Community Community Well Being discussion Ecosystem emotional support Environment Feather RIver Basin Forest forest health forest management forest restoration Healthy Forests land management Learning life Local Investments natural resources nature Nature Rules! research resource management rivers Rural Communities Rural Communtities Rural Economies rural life Rural Voices simple living social capital streams Tribes Urban & Rural Value Added Products watershed Watershed Health west shore project wildfire wildland urban interface wildlife

Archives

  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • August 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017

Help Us Promote Vibrant Rural Communities

DONATE TODAY

P.O. Box 11, 4438 Main Street
Taylorsville, CA 95983

530-284-1022 phone
530-284-1023 fax
info@SierraInstitute.us

NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP



© 2020 Sierra Institute