To address the wildfire risks, Nevada Irrigation District (NID) has partnered with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy through their Watershed Improvement Grants Program to reduce wildfire risk and to improve forest resilience at Scotts Flat Reservoir, in the Deer Creek watershed.

This project will complete 300 acres of fire fuels treatment adjacent to Scotts Flat Reservoir in Nevada County, and is part of a 3-year and 600 acre treatment goal for NID. This area is integral to the water supply infrastructure that NID manages for communities in Nevada and Placer counties. Our objective is to complete fire fuels reduction treatments utilizing mastication and hand-crews to remove and chip small diameter understory trees and dead and downed material. This project is in the highest rating wildfire hazard risk zone as identified by CAL FIRE.

The Scotts Flat Fire Fuels Treatment and Healthy Forests Project is part of a cross-canyon fuel break that extends the benefits of onsite fire fuels treatment by providing a strategic feature that can be utilized in responding to wildfire in the Deer Creek watershed. This project will improve watershed health while protecting NID’s hydroelectric infrastructure, terrestrial and aquatic habitats, and communities from elevated fire risk. This is one of multiple partnership efforts by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, NID and other local organizations and agencies to improve the health and safety of the rural communities in the Central Sierra region.