Placer County approves chipper program funding, staffing expansion

The Placer County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an agreement Aug. 10 with Placer County Probation to extend the Community Chipper Program. The purpose of the Chipper Program is to provide county residents with a low-cost residential service, incentivize fuels reduction on residential properties and promote fire prevention activities and defensible space adherence. According to Placer County Resource Conservation District (RCD) Executive Director Sarah Jones, the program's waitlist grew due to a spike in service demand and pausing the program for seven months after losing access to inmate crews during the pandemic. "By the time the program resumed in late 2020, there were over 400 requests for service," Jones said. "Even though the program was suspended, people continued to request those services and we honored that." According to Jones, an in-house crew was hired to resume the program and the waitlist is down to about 200 requests, with residents waiting three months for service. The Probation Department launched the mobile work crew program in April to provide an alternate sentencing option for individuals who have been convicted of a lower-level, nonviolent offense within the county and sentenced to Placer County Jail. According to Placer County Chief Probation Officer Marshall Hopper, crews work at various sites on different projects, including graffiti cleanup, trash cleanup and shoveling bark. "We believe that a partnership with RCD and our alternative sentencing programs will do two things: it'll expand our programs, it'll provide opportunities for these participants to give back to the community while at the same time allow different opportunities for our probation officers to get out there and provide for public safety in our community," Hopper said. The Probation Department's alternative program will provide staffing for the Chipper Program through Feb. 28, 2022. According to a county news release, Placer will provide up to $175,000 to support three additional crews for the program. The staff report notes with four crews, wait times will be reduced in four months. The report also notes county staff will return to the board in 2022 with a program report and recommendation on whether to continue the program beyond the agreement period. Placer residents can find more information about the Chipper Program at placerrcd.org/landowner-assistance/forestry/healthy-forests.