Mooretown Tribal Landscape Cultural Fire Project
Summary
SCH Number
2025100759
Public Agency
Butte County Resource Conservation District
(BCRCD)
Document Title
Mooretown Tribal Landscape Cultural Fire Project
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
10/16/2025
Document Description
The project area experienced 90-100% mortality during the 2020 North Complex Fire emergency, resulting in a vegetation community characterized by wide-scale even-aged resprouting brush. To meet ecological and cultural objectives, the Tribe desires to reburn this landscape in smaller sections, ranging from (approximately) 3 to 106 acres. This would promote an uneven-aged mosaic of vegetation, benefiting oak woodlands, culturally important shrubs and geophytes, and wildlife habitat. To this end, 38 subunits have been delineated (see map). This project would 1) create fire control features between these beneficial fire subunits (where control features don’t already exist) and then 2) apply beneficial fire under prescription to one or more subunits at a time. To create the new fire control features, crews would use manual means (e.g. metal-bladed weed whips, loppers) and non-ground-disturbing mechanical means (e.g. mowers) to remove vegetation along fireline corridors 3 feet wide. Next, these corridors would be scraped down to bare mineral soil. Firelines would be designed to be maintained as permanent features, since these units will be re-burned over and over every few years as the core of a Tribal land management strategy. A total of about 3.2 miles of new fireline would be cleared. At a 3foot width, this amounts to a total disturbance acreage of 1.16 acres. BMPs built into the project minimize water quality impacts. Subunits would be broadcast-burned in fall. Some burning of piles/invasive weeds could take place in spring, after visual bird checks. Work to be done on Federal lands would require separate NEPA clearance. Work to be done on adjacent private non-Tribal lands, if any, would require signed access/work agreements with those landowner(s). Broadcast burning would occur outside of nesting season (i.e. work would be conducted Aug 16-Jan 31) or pre-implementation nesting bird surveys would be done 1-3 days prior.
Contact Information
Name
Thad Walker
Agency Name
Butte County Resource Conservation District
Job Title
District Manager
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Counties
Butte
Regions
Northern California, Unincorporated
Total Acres
352
Township
20N
Range
06E
Section
16-21
Other Location Info
Project Name: Mooretown Tribal Landscape Cultural Fire Project
County: Butte
Acres: 352 +/-
Legal Location: T20N, R06E, sections 16-21; 28.
Name of USGS 7.5’ Quad Map(s): Forbestown
Elevation: 1,600’ – approximately 3,050’
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 4; California Code of Regulations, title 14, section 15304
Reasons for Exemption
Butte County RCD finds the project to be exempt from CEQA because it consists of minor alterations to vegetation. The project involves shallow ground disturbance during fireline establishment and incorporates adequate cultural resource protection measures. Disturbance to riparian and wetland zones would be minimal. Work will occur outside of nesting season (Feb 1- August 15), or pre-implementation surveys would be completed. Fall burning causes a less than significant impact to sensitive native plants in this region. Project implementation, as designed, would have less than significant impact in each resource area, and an exemption pursuant to § 15304 is indicated.
County Clerk
Butte
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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