TAHOMA, Calif. – The California Tahoe Conservancy is implementing a project to improve forest health and wildfire resilience on 25 acres of public land in Tahoma in El Dorado County. By thinning the overcrowded forest and removing hazardous fuels, the project will help reduce wildfire risk for the surrounding neighborhoods.

This project includes 118 Conservancy properties, seven National Forest Lands properties, and 23 El Dorado County properties.

The contractor will mulch small-diameter trees, branches, and shrubs. Larger trees and branches will be cut into firewood rounds, available for free collection by members of the public who have completed a free Conservancy fuelwood collection permit. The permit is available at tahoe.ca.gov/fuelwood-permit.

The Conservancy project will create forest conditions that are more resilient to drought, disease, and insect outbreaks. The project will also result in reduced wildfire risk for the surrounding west shore neighborhoods and the California State Route 89 corridor.

The Conservancy plans forestry projects like these in coordination with the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, and in support of the goals of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program. The lands included in this project are in the wildland-urban interface, where neighborhoods meet the forest. Lake Tahoe Basin partners identified these properties as priority treatment areas in the Tahoe Basin Community Wildfire Protection Plan.