Potential Environmental and

Ecological Impacts of Fuels Treatments

Lorna DobrovolnyCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlife

“It really is like an angry, out of control monster.”

-BBC News

“A huge wall of flames chewed through thick timber and brush… “

-The Associated Press

1. Equipment and personnelmobilization2. Mechanized, chemical and/orhand treatment of understoryvegetation3. Grazing and browsing4. Tree removal5. Slash collection6. Slash disposal

Outline Wildlife, present or absent?

Altered habitat / displacement of wildlife

Best Management Practices (BMP) for reducing impacts

Regulations

Questions

Wildlife, what wildlife?

Covered Plant and Animal Species (Class I) Vernal Pool Associates - Bogg's Lake Hedge-hyssop (Gratiola

heterosepala), Vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi), Vernal pool tadpole shrimp (Lepidurus packardi)

Insect - Valley elderberry longhorn beetle (Desmocerus californicus dimorphus)

Birds of Prey - Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni), Bald Eagle (wintering) (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), American peregrine falcon (wintering) (Falco peregrinus anatum), California burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia)

Other Birds - California black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis), Bank swallow (nesting) (Riparia riparia)

Fish - Central Valley steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Central Valley Fall/Late Fall-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

Amphibian - Foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii)

What Happens to Wildlife when Habitats are Disrupted?

They…

Move

•Adapt or ….

DIE

Forces of Nature and habitat disruption can be fatal to wildlife.

Best Management Practices

For Wildlife and Plants in Thinning Projects

1. Plan your Project Outside the Breeding/Blooming Season

Survey/Assess/Plan in the spring and summer monthsLearn the wildlife and plants

Work in the fall and during the drier parts of the winter.

2. Know the Wildlife and Plants on the Project Area

3. Design Your Landscape to Include a Variety of Trees and Shrubs While Maintaining a Fire-safe Condition

4. Leave Areas for Wildlife to Escape from Predators and Travel from One Place to Another

5. Retain Large Snags and Live Trees

6. Use Herbicides According to the Label

TranslineEnvironmental Hazards

Do not contaminate water when disposing of equipment washwaters. Do not contaminate water used for irrigation or domestic purposes. Do not apply directly to water, or to areas where surface water is present or to intertrdal areas below the mean high water mark. Clopyralid IS a chemical which can travel (seep or leach) through soil and under certain conditions contaminate groundwater which may be used for irrngatron or drinking purposes. Users are advised not to apply clopyralid where soils have a rapid to very rapid permeability throughout the profile (such as loamy sand to sand) and the water table of an underlying aquifer is shallow, or to soils containing sinkholes over limestone bedrock, severely fractured surfaces, and substrates which would allow direct introduction Into an aquifer Your local agricultural agencies can provide further Information on the type of soil in your area and the location of groundwater.

7. Check Old Wood Piles for Wildlife

8. Learn Your Rare Plants and Protect Them

Lens-pod milk-vetch (Astragalus lentiformis) Closed-lip penstemon (Penstemon personatus)

Follet’s monardella (Monardella follettii)Cantelow’s lewisia (Lewisii cantelowii)

2001 Dean Wm Taylor

9. Be Careful Clearing Along Streamsides and Building Roads

10. Do not Plant or Spread InvasiveNon-Native Plants

Fish and Wildlife Laws and Regulations

Fish and Game Code CA and Fed Endangered Species Act Natural Resources Code California Code of Regulations (CCR) Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) Public Resources Code (CEQA)

Is wildlife regulation effective?

NOW: Era of Regulation

Fish and Game Code CA and Fed Endangered Species Act Natural Resources Code California Code of Regulations (CCR) Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) Public Resources Code (CEQA)

Is wildlife regulation effective?

That’s the part that’s up to you….

Questions?Thank you!!

Lorna DobrovolnySenior Environmental Scientist

CA Department of Fish and WildlifeOffice: 916-358-1375

Lorna.Dobrovolny@wildlife.ca.gov