Social and Ecological Resiliency Across the Landscape (SERAL)
Summary
SCH Number
2026070275
Public Agency
Tuolumne County
Document Title
Social and Ecological Resiliency Across the Landscape (SERAL)
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
7/8/2026
Document Description
The SERAL project is a federal project addressing fuel reduction on public and private lands in Tuolumne County. The private lands within the approximately 118,000-acre project area will be surveyed prior to fuel reduction activities by contractors who will work to restore forest resilience and sequester greenhouse gases within the Tuolumne and Stanislaus River Watersheds. Contractors will execute the project by using mechanical thinning, mastication, hand work, chipping, prescribed fire, and biomass utilization processes, along with reforestation in certain areas as necessary. Contractors will work in distinct project areas with a specific scope of work that includes the best management practices for that area. Project areas will be treated simultaneously over a five-year period. Some treatment areas will be visible from public right of ways, however there are no designated scenic highways/roads within Tuolumne County. Biological and cultural resources surveys will be conducted prior to project implementation in each area, and sensitive areas, such as streams or wetlands, will be flagged for avoidance by contractors completing the fuel reduction work. The purpose of the project is to reduce accumulated fuels and shift vegetation structure and composition in the forest to improve alignment with their natural range in variation (NVR). A forested landscape aligned with its NVR is more resilient to many potential disturbances, such as large-scale high-severity fire, insects, disease, drought, and climate change.
Contact Information
Name
County of Tuolumne
Agency Name
County of Tuolumne
Job Title
Senior Management Analyst Forest Health Project
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
Sonora
Counties
Tuolumne
Regions
Countywide, Northern California
Zip
95370
Total Acres
118,000 acres
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
15304
Reasons for Exemption
After reviewing the project and its setting, the Environmental Coordinator for the County of Tuolumne has determined that the project is categorically exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15304 of the State CEQA Guidelines because the project consists of minor public or private alterations in the condition of land, water, and/or vegetation which do not involve removal of mature, scenic trees except for forestry and agricultural purposes. The SERAL project consists of minor land alterations involving the thinning and removal of surface vegetation for forestry purposes (improved forest health and fire risk reduction), which will not result in significant adverse impacts. None of the exceptions to the use of a categorical exemption found in Section 15300.2 of the State CEQA Guidelines apply to this project.
County Clerk
Tuolumne
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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