As they approved millions of dollars in more funding for wildfire fuels reduction work, Nevada County Supervisors also seemed uncertain about getting the most bang for the buck at their meeting on Tuesday. Considered the top protection project for the county, and impacting the most residents, the so-called Ponderosa West Defense Zone extension is set for more work, just two and a half years after its completion in March of 2022. About half of the 12-hundred acres is getting a second round of treatment. It’s mostly in Supervisor Sue Hoek’s district and she expressed some frustration about needing to spend another 750-thousand dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act plus the slowness of getting permits to start the work…

click to listen to Sue Hoek

OES Senior Administrative Analyst, Alex-Keeble-Toll, acknowledged the compliance components take a lot of time.

click to listen to Alex Keeble-Toll

The Board also approved a resolution adopting a three-point-nine million-dollar grant for Phase Two of the Woodpecker Ravine Shaded Fuel Project, a project identified as a top priority for Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit. It’s flanked by key evacuation corridors along Highways 49 and 174. Also, a resolution adopting a two-point-three-million-dollar grant for the Sierra Foothill Forest Climate Resilience Project. It uses what’s described as climate-smart management practices across multiple private and Federal parcels near Nevada City.