TRUCKEE RIVER

The nonprofit Truckee River Watershed Council (TRWC), alongside staff from the Tahoe National Forest, is launching a new forest health project near Boca Reservoir in late June that will help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire locally, and protect the drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people living downstream in the Reno/Sparks area.

In total, the project anticipates treating approximately 1,940 acres of U.S. Forest Service lands over the next three years to improve overall forest health. The project will remove ladder and surface fuels and use mechanical thinning to produce a healthy distribution of trees of varying sizes to decrease stand density and improve forest resilience and wildlife habitat. Fireline construction and any necessary trail reconstruction will also be completed.

The Boca Forest Health Project is part of a broader effort by TRWC and its partners in the Middle Truckee River Watershed Forest Partnership (MTRWFP), which aims to treat 60,000 acres by 2034.

This project is one of six active projects being implemented by MTRWFP this summer, which has already treated 11,772 acres in its first two years of implementation. Planning is underway for another 13,000 acres. Partner organizations include the TRWC, TMWA, National Forest Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and Tahoe National Forest’s Truckee and Sierraville ranger districts.

Learn more about the MTRWFP, project details, and temporary trail closures at truckeeforests.org/project-updates.

~ Truckee River Watershed Council