Twitchell Island Eco-Cultural Burn Pilot Project
Summary
SCH Number
2025120143
Public Agency
California Department of Water Resources
(DWR)
Document Title
Twitchell Island Eco-Cultural Burn Pilot Project
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
12/4/2025
Document Description
In collaboration with the Department of Water Resources (DWR), a team of researchers propose to conduct a single 10-acre wetland cultural burn and carbon sequestration research project on Twitchell Island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta on a weather-permitting day in January-March 2026. This goal is to reintroduce fire to remove excessive dead biomass to enhance ecosystem function and wetland carbon sequestration on DWR’s subsidence reversal wetlands to determine the feasibility and potential to reintroduce ecocultural burning to appropriately manage DWR's Delta wetlands. The burn will be orchestrated by Dr. Don Hankins with CSU Chico, a pyrogeographer and Miwok (Plains Miwok) cultural practitioner and carbon measurements by Dr. Kyle Delwiche and other researchers from the Biometeorology lab at UC Berkeley and Dr. Patty Oikawa from CSU East Bay. The burn will be done on a day where winds are between 2-8 mph and air quality conditions allow. Contingency lines will be created in advance to ensure the controlled burn is contained and the River Delta Fire Academy is invited to be on site as a training opportunity.
Contact Information
Name
Tyler Anthony
Agency Name
California Department of Water Resources
Job Title
Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist)
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Project Applicant / Parties Undertaking Project
Phone
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Isleton
Counties
Sacramento
Regions
Countywide
Total Acres
11
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 1, Section 15301
Reasons for Exemption
DWR fully supports the justification for a Categorical Exemption under CEQA. The cultural burn pilot project is first and foremost a maintenance effort to ensure the long-term health of subsidence reversal wetland habitat. The temporary burning of a 10 acre parcel within the East End wetlands on Twitchell Island does not constitute a significant threat to quality of air or water, does not increase noise or threaten any protected species or the environment at large. Local fire departments will be onsite to assist and monitor these activities.
County Clerk
Sacramento
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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