Big Flat Community Protection
The Big Flat Community Protection Project boundary landscape covers approximately 11,388 acres dominated by dense stands of even-aged Douglas-fir and tanoak that present a high hazardous fuels risk for the remote wildland urban interface (WUI) community of Big Flat.
The Big Flat Community Protection Project boundary landscape covers approximately 11,388 acres dominated by dense stands of even-aged Douglas-fir and tanoak that present a high hazardous fuels risk for the remote wildland urban interface (WUI) community of Big Flat.
The project goal is to alter the current density within these stands to levels adequate to effectively help protect the WUI of Big Flat from catastrophic fires and create control features to prepare for returning a favorable fire regime to the landscape. As an additional benefit, the project will restore healthy forest ecosystems that provide suitable habitat for at-risk wildlife and protect soils and water quality from detrimental effects of wildfire.
The project area encompasses the Jones and Hurdygurdy watersheds within the Smith River watershed, located in Del Norte County in northwestern California, with private inholdings and isolated rural communities surrounded entirely by the Six River National Forest (SRF), Smith River National Recreation Area (SRNRA). The area is heavily influenced by historical clearcutting, fire suppression, and infrequent high-severity wildfire.
The project re-establishes and maintains a network of 25 miles (600 acres) of strategically placed fuel breaks on federal lands and treats 600 acres of intersecting private inholdings along strategic access roads for the community, creating fire control points on private lands.
The Big Flat Project is an identified top priority for the local Smith River Collaborative {SRC), CAL FIRE, tribal, and local and county Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs). Ongoing and planned education and outreach opportunities provided by Smith River Alliance, a local non-profit 501(c)3 and member of SRC, and SRNRA Fire Prevention program will complement the fuelbreaks work, foster a culture of preparedness and give residents the information needed to properly protect their homes.
Partners: Smith River Collaborative, which is composed of Del Norte County elected officials, local and regional environmental groups (Friends of Del Norte, Klamath Forest Alliance, EPIC, KS Wild, and Smith River Alliance), the Elk Valley Rancheria and the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation Tribes, the Del Norte Fire Safe Council, and the American Forest Resource Council
- FY 2022
- FY 2022 Joint Chiefs' Landscape Restoration Project
- Total FY22 Funding Request: $701,342
