North Coast Range Fen Conservation Area — Manual Vegetation Treatment (Forest Fuels Reduction) Project
Summary
SCH Number
2026090684
Public Agency
California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Northern and Eureka Region 1
(CDFW)
Document Title
North Coast Range Fen Conservation Area — Manual Vegetation Treatment (Forest Fuels Reduction) Project
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
9/16/2026
Document Description
The project is a manual (hand-crew) vegetation treatment on approximately 44 acres within the 284-acre NCRFCA owned and managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The project consists of one eastern (tanoak-dominated) thinning unit (~33.2 ac) and two roadside treatment areas (~10.8 ac combined) adjacent to McClellan Mountain Road (a county public road); the roadside areas were part of the CAL FIRE Forest Resilience Exemption (1-25EX-00655-HUM) footprint that were not fully treated under that exemption.
The project includes no Watercourse and Lake Protection Zone (WLPZ) units and no treatment adjacent to a watercourse. The purpose is to reduce extreme wildfire risk through tree thinning and biomass removal while enhancing forest habitat; forest thinning tailored to local conditions can simultaneously advance late seral habitat development and reduce wildfire severity. A core project goal is to protect legacy trees and large-stature second-growth Douglas-fir.
The treatment consists of hand-crew (trained contract crews and California Conservation Corps crews) thinning of hardwood trees (primarily tanoak) less than 12 inches dbh in the eastern unit, and conifers and hardwoods less than 10–12 inches dbh in the roadside areas, using chainsaws only — no tracked or wheeled equipment, no new road construction, no timber sale, and no herbicide use. Slash will be disposed of by pile-and-burn in all treatment units, with the option of lop-and-scatter or chipping for slash material in some areas, following hand-piling specifications (piles kept within treatment unit boundaries, outside drip lines, and away from snags, downed logs, property lines, and power lines).
Contact Information
Name
James Ray
Agency Name
CA Fish and Wildlife
Job Title
Senior Environmental Scientist Specialist
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
Bridgeville
Counties
Humboldt
Regions
Northern California
Cross Streets
McClellan Mountain Road
Parcel #
210-033-006 and 210-033-002
Township
1N
Range
4E
Section
12
Base
Humboldt
Other Location Info
North Coast Range Fen Conservation Area (NCRFCA)
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 4 (14 CCR §15304); Class 7 (14 CCR §15307); Class 8 (14 CCR §15308)
Reasons for Exemption
The project meets the CEQA criteria for exemption from environmental review under Class 4 (14 CCR §15304) Minor Alterations to Land; Class 7 (14 CCR §15307) Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of Natural Resources; and Class 8 (14 CCR §15308) Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment.
Class 4 The project consists of minor alterations to land and vegetation — hand-crew thinning of small-diameter trees (<10"– <12" dbh) for fuels reduction and forest health purposes — with no removal of healthy, mature, or scenic trees, consistent with 14 CCR §15304. The project's ~44-acre footprint exceeds the 5-acre cap for Class 33 (Small Habitat Restoration Projects, 14 CCR §15333), so Class 4 is the applicable basis; Class 4 carries no acreage limit and has been used for comparable forest-health thinning projects elsewhere in California.
Class 7 The project is also exempt under Class 7, §15307 (Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of Natural Resources): CDFW, as the trustee and regulatory agency for fish and wildlife resources, is taking this action to protect and restore natural resources on Department owned lands — reducing hazardous fuel loads and improving forest and fen-adjacent habitat conditions.
Class 8 The project is also exempt under Class 8, §15308 (Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment): the project is an action taken by CDFW to protect the environment, specifically to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest and hydrologic conditions.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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