YSS in the Press and Stories of Interest

This month, when the 2025 Rim Fire Reforestation planting season began in earnest, the Groveland Ranger District collaborated with Tuolumne River Trust members to coordinate the planting. Read more here: Mymotherlode article

CAL Fire has announced funding for 94 wildfire prevention projects across the state, with a big chunk of money coming to Tuolumne County.  In total, $90 million is being awarded. Read more here:  Mymotherlode article

The Tuolumne River Trust is a coalition member, concerned about this watershed and nearby land. Executive Director Patrick Koepele praised the draft plan when it was released. “This work has been incredibly important for the health of the watershed and the protection of the community,” he told The Modesto Bee by email. The Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center, based in Twain Harte, also has been involved.  Read more here:  Modesto Bee Article

The SERAL 2.0 project is expected to contribute to improved habitat, reduced wildfire risks, reduction of invasive weeds, improvement of old-growth forest conditions, and commercially marketable timber to support the local economy, according to the Forest Service.  Read more here: Union Democrat Article

“We are deeply honored to receive this recognition from the White House,” said Dwight Follien, the President of the Groveland Trail Heads. “Having this award presented to us by the Groveland Ranger District personnel is especially meaningful, as they, along with the Stanislaus National Forest, have been incredible partners since our inception in 2013.”  Read more here:  Full Article

The Stanislaus National Forest has planted 493,000 trees in under three weeks this spring to rehabilitate the Rim Fire burn scar. Led by the Groveland Ranger District, the project aims to restore the forest devastated by the 2013 Rim Fire, which burned over 257,000 acres. Read full article here

Some of the other partners who have been involved include the Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions collaborative, the Stanislaus National Forest, and the Tuolumne River Trust. Read more here:  Mymotherlode article and here:  Union Democrat Article

At its most recent meeting, the state agency (SNC) approved a $920,000 grant to the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians to complete the environmental planning efforts for a 2,895 acre forest health project on tribal land. The Tribe’s land management plan aims to reduce fuels to protect forests and infrastructure from wildfires and drought. Read more here: Full Article

In an interview, the first thing that Supervisor Kuiken pointed to was the efforts of a collaborative group called Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions.

“After decades of adversarial “wrangling” over forest management policy, 25 local industry, environmental, and recreational groups decided it was time to focus on what we could agree on,” said Mike Albrecht, president, Associated California Loggers.

“When we sat down together, we found out we agreed on a lot, and so Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions (YSS) was born. YSS agreed to salvage logs from the Rim Fire, get it reforested, develop a fuel break network to protect our local communities, and restore meadows, streams, and wetlands to better health,” Albrecht said. “This agreement has gotten us national attention and subsequent funding to undertake large “landscape level” forest management projects. This would not have been accomplished without the close 3-way partnership between Tuolumne County, YSS, and the U.S. Forest Service. Kudos to everyone that has worked so hard to make this happen!” Read more:  https://forestpolicypub.com/2024/02/29/tsw-exclusive-a-tale-of-two-serals-making-landscape-scale-resilience-happen-with-the-stanislaus-forest-and-yss/

This past weekend, Forest Service employees, including Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor Jason Kuiken, rolled up their sleeves and got to work unloading a truck full of seedlings at the Groveland Ranger District. In all, the forest received 355 boxes of sugar pine, Douglas fir, and incense cedar saplings. Read more here:  https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/3315822/planting-trees-to-replenish-forest-in-the-rim-fire-burn-scar.html?ct=t(RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN)

SONORA, Calif. (January 11, 2024) – In an incredible show of faith and recognition for work already accomplished, the Stanislaus National Forest recently received its annual budget for work on the Stanislaus Wildfire Crisis Strategy Landscape of $57.6 million.

“This funding level is a clear indicator that we are on the right path with our work and should continue at full speed,” said Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor, Jason Kuiken. “Not only is that apparent as people drive up Highway 108 and see with their own eyes the work, but it’s an acknowledgement all the way from Washington, D.C. that this work should continue.”

Part of the Forest Services’ Wildfire Crisis Strategy, the Stanislaus National Forest is currently into year three of a ten-year, 305,000 acres project to reduce fuel loads on the forest through a variety of methods to include mechanical thinning and the application of prescribed fire.

“We are extremely proud of all of the work done by staff on the forest, but it must be noted that additionally, we could not have accomplished anywhere near the pace and scale of these accomplishments were in not for our partnership with Tuolumne County and the Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions Collaborative (YSS),” said Kuiken.

Noting YSS member group Tuolumne River Trust was responsible for project management and inspection on fuels reduction contracts award by Tuolumne County, Kuiken was keen to point out their efforts were critical in increasing Forest Service capacity.

“We are excited to be able to continue to make progress on the work we began several years ago. The partnership between the Stanislaus National Forest and the Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions collaborative is truly a model with few comparisons anywhere else in the country. Like so many people who live, work, and recreate in and around the Stanislaus National Forest, I am grateful that our nearby forest and watershed health will be protected for years to come.”

Comprised of outdoor enthusiast, conservations organization and industry partners, the Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions has been critical in the success of the Wildfire Crisis Landscape.

“After decades of adversarial “wrangling” over forest management policy, 25 local industry, environmental, and recreational groups decided it was time to focus on what we could agree on,” said Mike Albrecht, president, Associated California Loggers.

“When we sat down together, we found out we agreed on a lot, and so Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions (YSS) was born. YSS agreed to salvage logs the Rim Fire, get it reforested, develop a fuel break network to protect our local communities, and restore meadows, streams, and wetlands to better health,” Albrecht said. “This agreement has gotten us national attention and subsequent funding to undertake large “landscape level” forest management projects. This would not have been accomplished without the close 3-way partnership between Tuolumne County, YSS, and the U.S. Forest Service. Kudos to everyone that has worked so hard to make this happen!

To learn more about the Stanislaus Landscape project, please visit the Forest’s dedicated Stanislaus Landscape website at  https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/STFLandscape.

Questions or concerns should be directed to Stanislaus National Forest Public Affairs Officer, Benjamin Cossel, benjamin.cossel@usda.gov, 209.288.6261.

A 20-year experiment in the north-central Sierra Nevada recently confirmed what many local, state and federal agencies have been saying for years — that forest management techniques such as prescribed burning, restoration thinning, or a combination of both, effectively reduce risks of catastrophic wildfire in California.  Read more here:  https://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/article_49296bda-b029-11ee-95f7-171698d01d03.html?utm_source=uniondemocrat.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Flists%2Fheadlines%2F%3F-dc%3D1704988814&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline

Read more here: https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/3274506/fueling-a-storyboard-for-tuolumne-county-wildfire-protection.html?ct=t(RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN)

The SERAL 2.0 proposal includes the use of prescribed fire, hand thinning, mastication, mechanical forest thinning, non-native invasive weed control, and limited salvage operations. The project’s objectives include increasing landscape resilience to wildfires and other disturbances; to reduce the spread of non-native vegetation; to reduce safety hazards across public lands; and to provide economic opportunities to local communities.  Read more at:  Union Democrat Article