Placer Supervisors approve receipt of grant funds for French Meadows Project

The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution Tuesday ratifying the application submission and receipt of funding for the French Meadows Ecological Restoration Project. The project aims to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire through fuel treatment to protect recreational resources, habitat, critical water/power infrastructure and community, the staff report notes. The project description confirms, "The proposed project would complete the treatments remaining from the original 9,000 planned acres, thereby securing the related ecological, community and economic benefits and setting the stage for ongoing monitoring and evaluation." According to the program website, the intent of the Forest Health program, managed by CAL FIRE, is to fund restoration and reforestation activities to provide more resilient and sustained forests to ensure the future existence of California forests. The staff report notes the program provides funding to landscape-scale land management projects with objectives that include restoring forest health and disaster resilience to state forests, protect upper watersheds and minimizes the loss of forest carbon from unnaturally large, high-severity wildfires. Placer County submitted an application before the March 4 deadline and was notified on May 5 its application was selected for work between July 26, 2022, and March 31, 2026, according to the staff report. Placer will be awarded $1,187,705 for the project, with a required match of $599,695.20. The staff report notes the county has sufficient funds to meet the match requirement and the funds are available to begin the project, with all funds expended by March 30, 2026. Board Chair and District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson pulled the item from the consent agenda to confirm if the Placer County Water Agency would help offset the matching costs or would it be sorely county revenues. Placer County Regional Forest Health Coordinator Kerri Timmer confirmed the funding would come from revenues of the timber sold that is removed as part of the project. The board approved the item in a unanimous vote.