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Year in Review: Protecting the forests of the Middle Truckee Watershed

Progress Report on Mitigating Severe Wildfire Risk in the Tahoe National Forest

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Submitted to the Sun

TRUCKEE, Calif. – The Middle Truckee River Watershed Forest Partnership (MTRWFP) is celebrating the results of the first full year of active projects, all of which are focused on reducing the occurrence of severe wildfire within the forests of the Truckee River Watershed.

Timber fuels removal within the Five Creeks project along Highway 89 between Truckee and Tahoe City, Calif.
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With an overall goal of restoring forest health across 60,000 acres of the Tahoe National Forest, the accomplishments of the projects in 2024 are part of the MTRWFP’s ten-year vegetation management plan. Year-end accomplishments include:

  1. Reduced hazardous surface and ladder fuels across 2,865 acres to lower the likelihood of high severity wildfire.
  2. Improved forest health and resiliency across 2,537 acres which reduced the likelihood of tree mortality from insects, diseases, drought, climate change and wildfire.
  3. Prepared an additional 6,842 acres for fuels reduction and forest resiliency treatments in the coming years.
  4. Completed pre-implementation environmental planning and compliance on 11,914 acres. 

“The amount of work completed by the Partnership in 2024 greatly increases the pace and scale of forest health restoration in the watershed,” states Eben Swain, project director for the Truckee River Watershed Council. “We know we still have a lot to do to achieve the goal of restoring 60,000 acres of forest, but we are confident that it is achievable with continued support from the Partnership and other collaborators.”

Forest restoration work within the Five Creeks project included clearing wildfire fuels throughout the Donkey Trail system along Highway 89 between Truckee and Tahoe City.
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Forest preservation projects also help protect recreational assets and infrastructure in and around the town of Truckee, benefiting its tourism-driven economy.  Additionally, healthy forests preserve the water quality and quantity in the Truckee River which supplies approximately 85% of the Reno area’s drinking water.

Funding totaling $4,705,940 was spent on the planning and implementation of these highly beneficial projects. Funds came from federal, state and local government sources, as well as from private and non-profit organizations. To read more about the projects and objectives of the MTRWFP, please visit truckeeforests.org.

Middle Truckee River Watershed fuels reduction and forest restoration on the “Ladybug” project near Stampede reservoir.
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