Sonoma Mountain Vernal Pools RX
Summary
SCH Number
2025100788
Public Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CAL FIRE)
Document Title
Sonoma Mountain Vernal Pools RX
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
10/17/2025
Document Description
Located in Sonoma County at Enterprise Ln and Bennett Valley Rd, this project site is a private property managed by Sonoma Land Trust (SLT) consisting of annual and perennial grasslands interspersed with oak woodlands. The Sonoma Mountain Vernal Pool burn proposes to treat approximately 60 acres through prescribed broadcast and pile burning. The primary goals are to reduce the cover of invasive species, particularly medusa head (Elymus caput-medusae) and yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis), improve ingress and egress along Bennet Valley Road, while also providing valuable training opportunities for local and state fire personnel.
The fire will be conducted under a low- to moderate-intensity prescription to create beneficial ecological disturbance. Control lines will include wet lines, existing roads, and hand-constructed scratch lines as needed based on terrain and access. Use of heavy equipment will be restricted to existing roads to minimize soil compaction and erosion. Pre-burn treatments may include pruning lower oak limbs and moving dead or downed vegetation into units for full consumption during the burn.
The project area has been affected by past wildfires, including the 2017 Nuns and Tubbs Fires and more recent fire events during the 2020 and 2021 fire seasons. These wildfires caused extensive mortality and stress to oak woodlands, increasing fuel loads and fire risk. The proposed treatments aim to reduce this buildup, improve forest health, and enhance fire resilience for the ranch and surrounding landscapes.
Prescribed burns in oak woodlands and general grasslands are scheduled for the fall, while targeted grassland burns focused on invasive species control will take place in the spring, before invasive seeds have. Seasonal timing of fire may be adjusted as personnel and staffing fluctuate.
Contact Information
Name
Ian Hosbein
Agency Name
CAL FIRE
Job Title
Forestry Assistant II
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Counties
Sonoma
Regions
Northern California
Cross Streets
Enterprise Ln and Bennett Valley Rd.
Total Acres
60
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Declared Emergency
Type, Section or Code
Sec. 21080(b)(4); 15269(c)
Reasons for Exemption
Pursuant to CEQA Section 21080(b)(4) and CEQA Guidelines Section 15269 (c) a project is exempt from CEQA if it is a “specific action necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency.” On March 1, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency to exist due to catastrophic wildfire risks created by forest conditions and found that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist within the State of California due to these conditions. Pursuant to the Emergency Proclamation, a critical fuels reduction project qualifies for CEQA exemption if: (1) it has as one of its primary objectives at least one of the following activities: (a) removal of hazardous, dead, and/or dying trees; (b) removal of vegetation for the creation of strategic fuel breaks as identified by approved fire prevention plans, including without limitation CAL FIRE Unit Fire Plans or Community Wildfire Preparedness Plans; (c) removal of vegetation for community defensible space; (d) removal of vegetation along roadways, highways, and freeways for the creation of safer ingress and egress routes for the public and responders and to reduce roadside ignitions; (e) removal of vegetation using cultural traditional ecological knowledge for cultural burning and/or prescribed fire treatments for fuels reduction; or (f) maintenance of previously-established fuel breaks or fuels modification projects; (2) has been approved by the appropriate Agency Secretary, or their designee, as being eligible to be conducted under the suspension; and (3) is conducted in accordance with the State Environmental Protection Plan (EPP). This project’s primary purpose has been approved by the Secretary of Natural Resources as being eligible to be conducted under the suspension and will be conducted in accordance with the EPP. The action is therefore exempt from CEQA. Documentation of the environmental review completed by the Department is kept on file at 1199 Big Tree Rd., St. Helena, CA.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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