Current Events & News
COMMON ENEMY BRINGS COMMUNITY TOGETHER
(Grass Valley, CA) March 6, 2012. Once again, the community has come together to answer the Scotch Broom Challenge issued by the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County (FSCNC.) The Scotch Broom Challenge was created in 2007 to address the spread of this highly flammable and invasive plant in our community. The Scotch Broom Challenge started with just a few sites in Nevada County. In the spring of 2011 over 250 volunteers took the Scotch Broom Challenge and pulled broom at 17 sites throughout Nevada County and Placer County. The goals of the Challenge are to educate the community about this hazardous vegetation in order to control the rapid spread in our county and reduce the fire hazard, provide landowner assistance and implement removal sites. The 2012 Scotch Broom Challenge kicked off last weekend with sites at Champion Mine Rd in Nevada City hosted by Greater Champion Mine Neighborhood and Burton House in Nevada City hosted by Bear Yuba Land Trust.
Leading the Community Effort is the Fire Safe Council. Joanne Drummond, Executive Director of the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County sees the enthusiasm built over the past five years, “Terming this a ‘challenge’ is fitting. Scotch broom’s invasive qualities are evident and highly visible throughout Nevada County. It is exciting to be a part of a massive removal movement with so many individuals and community groups returning to help make Nevada County more Fire Safe!”
Scotch Broom banned in Nevada County In response to the Challenge, Nevada County Agricultural Commissioner, Jeffrey Pylman, issued a letter prohibiting the importation, propagation and sale of broom varieties as ornamental landscaping in Nevada County.
2012 Scotch Broom Challenge Project Sites – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
March 10 - Tyler Foote Rd in North San Juan, hosted by NSJ Fire
March 10 - North Star Mine House in Grass Valley, hosted by Bear Yuba Land Trust
March 10 - Hell’s Half Acre in Grass Valley, hosted by Red Bud Chapter California Native Plant Society
March 17 - Oak Tree Park in North San Juan, hosted by Oak Tree Park District
March 24 - Wolf Creek @ Wolf Rd in Grass Valley, hosted by Wolf Creek Community Alliance
March 24 - Woodpecker on Banner Mountain in Nevada City, hosted by Bear Yuba Land Trust
April 14 - Hirschman Pond in Nevada City, hosted by Bear Yuba Land Trust
April 21 - Gracie Rd & Banner Lava Cap Rd in Nevada City, hosted by Banner Mountain HOA
April 22 - Canyon View Preserve in Auburn, hosted by Placer Land Trust
April 28 - Alan Thiesen in Alta Sierra, hosted by Bear Yuba Land Trust
April 28 - Sugarloaf in Nevada City, hosted by Sierra Nevada Group of The Sierra Club
April 28 & 29 - Scotch Broom workshop, at the Home & Garden Show. Learn how to effective control broom on your property.
Volunteer participants will learn how to identify broom varieties, effective control techniques and proper use of loppers and weed wrenches. To join the Scotch Broom Challenge or for more information on the projects, please contact the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County at (530) 272-1122 or online at www.areyoufiresafe.com.
Funding for Fire Safe Chipping Program
(GRASS VALLEY, California, January 30, 2012) The Fire Safe Council of Nevada County recently received a $20,000 grant award from the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District. The grant will be used to fund the popular Defensible Space Chipping Program.
The Fire Safe Council of Nevada County has been struggling to keep their chipping program operational with memberships and donations. The council continually applies for grants to provide landowner assistance programs to Nevada County residents to make the community safer from wildfire.
Council Executive Director, Joanne Drummond, said “We’re proud to partner with the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District on our chipping program. Their efforts to reduce vehicle trips to the transfer station while avoiding smoke emissions is ongoing. The opportunity to burn vegetative material is extremely limited, whereas the chipping program operates year-round, weather permitting. Providing funding for the chipping program meets multiple goals in the community.”
Residents in need of chipping services must submit a Defensible Space Chipping form. The form is available online at www.areyoufiresafe.com or by calling the Council office at 530-272-1122. The program rotates throughout Nevada County neighborhoods based on a first-come, first-served basis. To receive priority chipping service, people may become a Sustaining Member of the Fire Safe Council for service, generally within two weeks. The chipping program is available to all Nevada County residents regardless of their ability to pay. The Fire Safe Council suggest a donation of $50 per hour for chipping services received to help ensure the program can continue when grant funding is not available.
The Fire Safe Council of Nevada County is a non-profit corporation dependent upon grants, private donations, and community volunteers to exist. In addition to the chipping program the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County also provides defensible space clearing for low-income seniors and the disabled, landowner education and assistance programs, the Scotch Broom Challenge, and community fuel break projects.
To find out more about the program, visit the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County’s web site at www.areyoufiresafe.com or phone them at (530) 272-1122.
