On December 14, 2022, Tyler Schroyer, Forestry Stewardship Coordinator for GBI, traveled to Sacramento to represent the Institute at the 2022 Regional Forester’s Honor Award ceremony, and to accept the award granted to GBI for its effort on Caldor Post Fire Recovery and Disaster Relief. This honor was shared with a collaborative team comprised of Eldorado National Forest, El Dorado and Georgetown Divide Resource Conservation District, and California Office of Emergency Services.
As wonderful as this award is, the knowledge that this collaboration accomplished so much is the real feather in our cap. The considerable achievements of this collaboration include:
- Over $30 million dollars in disaster relief funding was obligated
- Over 150 MMBF of timber was removed – the single largest timber output in R5 and nationwide!
- Sierra at Tahoe, one of the largest employers in El Dorado County, reopened for the 2022-23 season
- Hazard trees were removed on a critical ingress/egress route for the homes remaining in the Grizzly Flats community
- Hazardous waste was mitigated in association with recreation residences which directly threatened the South Fork of the American River, a critical water supply for El Dorado County
The USFS’s Aaron Mayville had this to say about GBI’s contribution: “The Great Basin Institute was instrumental in the implementation of the Grizzly Flat Fuel Break and hazard tree removal along NFS roads and were they key partner that enabled completion of a draft environmental assessment for roadside hazard tree mitigation. The El Dorado and Georgetown Divide Resource Conservation District (RCD) accomplished the removal of hazard trees at Sierra at Tahoe, allowing them to open for their 75th anniversary year and sent 20 MMBF of timber to be processed. The RCD also led the statewide pilot effort of the Emergency Forest Restoration Team. The California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) removed hazardous waste from 177 recreation residences with limited or no cost to permit holders. This protected a critical watershed for the water provider of El Dorado County.”
We could not be happier about receiving this honor, especially in collaboration with such wonderful partners doing such important work in support of our forests.
