Highway 97 Fuel Break Maintenance - Good Neighbor Authority
Summary
SCH Number
2026020159
Public Agency
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CAL FIRE)
Document Title
Highway 97 Fuel Break Maintenance - Good Neighbor Authority
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
2/5/2026
Document Description
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection will conduct maintenance of existing roadside fuel breaks up to 200 feet wide on each side of portions of State Highway 97 and Big Springs Road in Siskiyou County to ensure safe ingress and egress for residents and emergency responders. Treatment will include removal of all brush species and thinning of trees 8" Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) or less to a spacing of 20 to 30 feet, as necessary to achieve project objectives. Retained trees will be pruned to a height of 6 to 8 feet. A masticator will be utilized to treat most of the project area and hand crews using chainsaws and hand tools will be utilized to treat steep or rocky areas which are not accessible to heavy equipment. Removed biomass will be piled and burned or cut and chipped/broadcast evenly onto the project area. If vegetation is piled and burned, burning will only be conducted during safe climatic conditions. The project encompasses approximately 12 miles in length and includes approximately 460 acres within the Shasta Trinity National Forest, consistent with the NEPA decision listed below.
Under 16 UCS 2113a, the Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) enables CAL FIRE to use its standard procedures, policies, and contracting mechanisms to accomplish authorized restoration work on federal lands. For this project, work will be consistent with Good Neighbor Authority Agreement #25-GN-11052007-010 signed 9/11/2025.
Contact Information
Name
Kristine Cloward
Agency Name
CAL FIRE
Job Title
Environmental Scientist
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Parties Undertaking Project
Phone
Location
Counties
Siskiyou
Regions
Northern California
Cross Streets
State Highway 97 and Big Springs Road
Zip
96094
Total Acres
460
State Highways
97
Township
42N
Range
5W
Section
13
Base
MDBM
Other Location Info
T 42N, R 5W, Sections 13 and 24 and R 4W, Sections 3,4,8,9,17,18 and 19 and T 43N, R 4W, Sections 34, 35 and 36 and T 43N, R 3W, Sections 20, 29, 30 and 31 Mount
Other Information
approximately five miles northeast of Weed, California.
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Public Resources Code Section 4799.05(d)(1)
Reasons for Exemption
The proposed project is statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in accordance with the provisions in Public Resoruces Code 4799.05(d)(1). It states: “Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) does not apply to prescribed fire, reforestation, habitat restoration, thinning, or fuel reduction projects, or to related activities included in the project description, undertaken, in whole or in part, on federal lands to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire that have been reviewed under the federal National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq.) if either of the following is satisfied: (A) The primary role of a state or local agency is providing funding or staffing for those projects. (B) A state or local agency is undertaking those projects pursuant to the federal Good Neighbor Authority (Public Law 113-79) 1 or a stewardship agreement with the federal government entered pursuant to Public Law 113-79.”
All work coordinated in conjunction with the Shasta Trinity National Forest are included in the Bolam Timber Stand Improvement and Fuelbreak Construction Project Decision Memo signed on July 29, 2011 and Chapter 18 Review for the Bolam Timber Stand Improvement Project dated July 9, 2019. These documents are available at the Shasta Trinity National Forest, Shasta McCloud Management Unit at 2019 Forest Road, McCloud CA 96057. The Good Neighbor Authority Agreement is kept on file at the Sacramento Headquarters Office at 715 P St. Sacramento, CA 95814.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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