(RFFCP2022) Tribal Capacity Building Program – Berry Creek Rancheria (#1742-RFFCP)
Summary
SCH Number
2026100036
Public Agency
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Document Title
(RFFCP2022) Tribal Capacity Building Program – Berry Creek Rancheria (#1742-RFFCP)
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
10/1/2026
Document Description
The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) will provide funding for the Berry Creek Rancheria of the Maidu Indians of California (Grantee) to conduct vegetation management, hazardous fuel reduction, invasive species removal, ecological restoration, native plant establishment, cultural resource stewardship, prescribed and cultural burning on three locations in Butte County. Those locations are; Bald Rock Trail Head (50 acres in Plumas National Forest), 338 Raccoon Road (39.5 acres of land held in fee title by the Grantee) and the Berry Creek Rancheria Cemetery (11.25 acres of land held in fee title by the Grantee). In addition, the SNC will fund the installation of a small prefabricated native seed storage shed. Specific activities will include: hazard tree removal, manual vegetation thinning, mechanical thinning where appropriate, invasive species removal, construction of control lines where necessary to safely conduct prescribed fire, biomass management through hand piling, machine piling, chipping, mastication, lop and scatter or other appropriate treatment methods, broadcast cultural and prescribed burning and pile burning. The objective of the Project is to advance indigenous land stewardship to increase ecosystem health and fire resilience while reducing the risk of future catastrophic fire. The Project will increase the Grantee’s capacity to conduct indigenous-led prescribed fire and post fire ecosystem recovery while supporting the Tribe in increasing fire resilience and fostering a shift toward a healthy fire-adapted ecosystem on the Berry Creek Tribal Cultural Landscape.
Contact Information
Name
Wendy Johnson
Agency Name
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Job Title
General Counsel
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Name
Gavin Antone
Agency Name
Berry Creek Rancheria of the Maidu Indians of California
Job Title
Berry Creek Restoration Workforce Operations Manager
Contact Types
Project Applicant / Parties Undertaking Project
Address
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
unincorporated Butte County near Oroville and Feather Falls
Counties
Butte
Regions
Northern California, Unincorporated
Other Location Info
There are three separate, non-contiguous project areas. 1) Plumas National Forest, Bald Rock Trailhead. 50 acres on the Brush Creek quadrangle located at 39.645164° N, 121.340242° W; 2) 338 Racoon Rd Berry Creek CA The 338 Raccoon Road unit comprises 39.5 ac on the Berry Creek quadrangle in T20N, ROSE, section 1; and 3) Berry Creek Cemetery the Berry Creek Cemetery unit comprises 11.24 ac on the Forbestown quadrangle in T20N, ROSE, section 12.
Unincorporated Butte County near Oroville (95965) & Feather Falls (95966)
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Pub. Resources Code, section 4799.05, subd. (d)(1)
Reasons for Exemption
California Public Resources Code section 21084 requires CEQA guidelines to include a list of classes of projects which have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and which shall, therefore, be exempt from the provisions of CEQA. CEQA Guidelines Section 15304, Class 4, provides that projects that consist 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, are exempt from the provisions of CEQA , provided no exceptions apply. The Project is located in an area that was catastrophically burned in the 2020 North Fire Complex. Sensitive habitats, including watercourses, wetlands, riparian habitat, and other habitat for special-status species would be avoided. The project involves shallow ground disturbance during fuel reduction activities and incorporates adequate cultural resource protection measures. Disturbance to riparian and wetland zones would be minimal and best management practices are incorporated into the Project scope of work. Work will occur outside of bird
nesting season, or pre-implementation surveys would be completed. Potential
Watercourse and Lake Protection Zones have been identified, and protective measures have been incorporated into the Project scope of work. The Project implementation, as designed, would have less than significant impact in each resource area. The SNC reviewed the project and determined that the project is categorically exempt from the provisions of CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15304, Class 4, on the Racoon Road and Berry Creek Cemetery sites and none of the exceptions to the exemption apply to the project. Public Resources Code, section 4799.05 statutorily exempts from CEQA projects for 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 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) if the primary role of a state or local agency is providing funding or staffing for those projects. (Pub. Resources Code, section 4799.05, subd. (d). The Bald Rock project area has been reviewed under the NEPA by the US Forest Service who provided justification for a categorical exclusion which is memorialized in the Plumas National Forest Decision Memo; Bald Rock Forest Restoration and Resilience Project, Signed April 29, 2025, no concerns of issues were identified that would significantly affect the environment.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Cal.Code Regs.Tit.14 (CEQA Guidelines), section 15304; Minor Alterations to Land.
Reasons for Exemption
California Public Resources Code section 21084 requires CEQA guidelines to include a list of classes of projects which have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and which shall, therefore, be exempt from the provisions of CEQA. CEQA Guidelines Section 15304, Class 4, provides that projects that consist 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, are exempt from the provisions of CEQA , provided no exceptions apply. The Project is located in an area that was catastrophically burned in the 2020 North Fire Complex. Sensitive habitats, including watercourses, wetlands, riparian habitat, and other habitat for special-status species would be avoided. The project involves shallow ground disturbance during fuel reduction activities and incorporates adequate cultural resource protection measures. Disturbance to riparian and wetland zones would be minimal and best management practices are incorporated into the Project scope of work. Work will occur outside of bird
nesting season, or pre-implementation surveys would be completed. Potential
Watercourse and Lake Protection Zones have been identified, and protective measures have been incorporated into the Project scope of work. The Project implementation, as designed, would have less than significant impact in each resource area. The SNC reviewed the project and determined that the project is categorically exempt from the provisions of CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15304, Class 4, on the Racoon Road and Berry Creek Cemetery sites and none of the exceptions to the exemption apply to the project. Public Resources Code, section 4799.05 statutorily exempts from CEQA projects for 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 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) if the primary role of a state or local agency is providing funding or staffing for those projects. (Pub. Resources Code, section 4799.05, subd. (d). The Bald Rock project area has been reviewed under the NEPA by the US Forest Service who provided justification for a categorical exclusion which is memorialized in the Plumas National Forest Decision Memo; Bald Rock Forest Restoration and Resilience Project, Signed April 29, 2025, no concerns of issues were identified that would significantly affect the environment.
County Clerk
Butte
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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