Sierra Sun October 11, 2023

FORESTHILL, Calif. – Starting Oct. 11, the Tahoe National Forest will be beginning a 262-acre prescribed understory burn at French Meadows Reservoir as part of the French Meadows Project.

The French Meadows Project is a forest restoration and fuels reduction project located in the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the American River on the Tahoe National Forest in California’s northern Sierra Nevada.

The project area includes 27,623 acres, of which 22,152 are national forest land. The project was developed not only to improve the health and resilience of an important municipal watershed, but also to address critical barriers to increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration in the Sierra Nevada.

On October 4, MCWRA joined Placer County Water Agency, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Placer County, Georgetown Divide Public Utility District, USDA Forest Service, CalFIRE, and the Office of Assemblymember Megan Dahle for a tour of the French Meadows Forest Restoration Project.

“While we have many obstacles and challenges to address in managing our forests, I am encouraged by the legislative interest and participation that we received for this tour,” said Justin Caporusso, MCWRA Executive Director.  “Collaboration is key when it comes to tackling the policy changes that need to take place to better protect our forested watersheds against wildfire.”

In addition to Assemblymember Megan Dahle and staff, we were joined by representatives from Senator John Laird’s office, Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil’s office, Senator Brian Dahle’s office, and Assemblymember Joe Patterson’s office.

MCWRA Directors Barbara Balen, Tuolumne Utilities District, Lori Anzini, El Dorado Irrigation District, and Lori Parlin, El Dorado County also joined the tour.