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- Written by: Lake County News reports
California State Parks in cooperation with the Lake County Fire Protection District are planning the prescribed burn in the park on Saturday, Feb. 20, Weather permitting.
This effort will be carried out in cooperation with other partner agencies.
The burn is the first step in a new project that the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association will undertake, in cooperation with State Parks, to restore the park’s three-acre entrance meadow, which burned in the 2016 Clayton fire.
AMIA has received a $9,026 grant from the California State Parks Foundation’s Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Fund to conduct the work, as Lake County News reported this week.
State Parks said such burns are part of the prescribed fire program for vegetation management, hazardous fuel load reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, and other ecological benefits.
This treatment will enhance the health of the park by removing diseased materials, restoring essential nutrients to the soil, and reducing the chance of a catastrophic wildfire.
In grassland and scrub areas, fire will be reintroduced as a component of the ecosystem on a rotational basis. The prescribed burns will also help in reducing dangerous fuel loads throughout wildland areas.
All burning depends on weather and air quality conditions that are favorable for smoke dispersal. If the conditions, such as weather or vegetation are not conducive for burning, the burns will be rescheduled.
Some public trails near the burn area will be closed the day of the burn. People traveling near the fire burn areas may see smoke from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the day of the burn.
In the unlikely event you smell smoke, Lake County officials urge you to take precautions and use common sense to reduce any harmful health effects by limiting outdoor activities. Prescribed burns produce significantly less smoke than a wildfire does.
If you see or smell smoke in your surroundings, officials recommend avoiding strenuous outdoor activity and remaining indoors as much as possible. These precautions are especially important for children, the elderly, and people with respiratory and heart conditions.
Please use extreme caution while driving near prescribed fire operations due to fire personnel and equipment in the area.
California State Parks and Lake County Fire Protection District are adhering to the safety protocols set by public health officials and have made accommodations to limit exposure among first responders and field crews to protect staff from COVID-19 during prescribed burns.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
This proposed project covers approximately 4,500 acres in the middle of the Forest about 15 miles from Covelo and 36 miles from Willows.
The proposed Plaskett-Keller project crosses multiple jurisdictional lines – ranger districts, counties and land ownership – and is an excellent area for partnerships and collaboration on land management. It also contains several campgrounds and major roads used frequently by the public and Forest Service employees.
The proposal includes post-fire recovery activities to remove fire-killed and fire-injured trees in order to improve employee and public safety, capture remaining economic value of dead trees, and reduce post-fire fuels to prevent the excessive accumulation of fuels.
The August Complex burned a total of 1,032,648 acres, including 612,634 acres on the Mendocino National Forest.
For post-fire recovery, forest resource specialists considered the rapid assessment conducted by the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers national forests as a foundation to develop a three-phase approach for restoration.
Phase 1 will address time-sensitive safety concerns along roadways and campgrounds as well as economic recovery.
Phase 2 involves restoration activities such as reforestation, additional fuels reduction work, habitat enhancement, recreation site improvements, and more.
Phase 3 will focus on long-term recovery across the landscape using the Watershed Condition Framework approach.
A scoping letter with additional details and maps are available for download from the project website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=59444.
The participation of interested persons, organizations, state and local governments, and tribes is encouraged throughout the process of developing this project.
Forest officials said their desire is to receive comments on the merits of the proposed action, as well as comments that address concerns.
Public questions and comments regarding this proposal are an integral part of the environmental analysis process. Comments will be used to identify issues and develop alternatives to the proposed action. To best assist the Forest Service in developing this project, comments should be as specific as possible.
Comments would be the most useful if they are received by Wednesday, March 17.
All comments, including source information, will become part of the public record, and therefore will be subject to release upon request.
How to comment: Comments may be submitted via email to
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association is among 15 state parks and park partners receiving grants to help restore fragile habitats, rebuild parks and create a climate-resilient state park system.
The California State Parks Foundation is awarding $135,000 in grants from its new Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Fund to help 15 parks – 10 of which are in the Northern California region – recover from devastating wildfires.
The Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association, or AMIA, will receive $9,026, with the grant term running for a year, beginning March 1, the foundation reported.
The grant will allow AMIA to partner with the Department of Parks and Recreation in restoring and rehabilitating the three-acre entrance meadow that first greets visitors to Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, which burned in the 2016 Clayton fire, the association reported.
“AMIA is grateful for the financial support of CSPF that will allow this project to help protect the park’s historic ranch house and barn complex, as well as creating an opportunity to educate the public about the benefits of native plants in reducing the risk of wildfire,” said AMIA President Roberta Lyons.
The nonprofit California State Parks Foundation, which advocates for and supports California state parks, created the Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Fund in 2020, a record-setting year for wildfires in California.
“The 2020 California wildfires were horrifically destructive, and our beloved state parks have undergone devastating damage. There is a real need to restore fragile habitats and rebuild parks, while building climate resiliency to mitigate the impact of climate change,” said Rachel Norton, executive director of California State Parks Foundation.
The Wildfire Resiliency and Prevention Grant opportunity includes $135,917 in grant funding that supports activities resulting in outcomes including assessment, restoration, preparedness and education.
AMIA, a nonprofit association cooperating with State Parks to support and promote educational and interpretive activities at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, said its project will begin with a prescribed burn at the park.
The project focuses on making the park more resilient to the ever-increasing wildfires that are being caused by climate change, as well as educating the public about what can be done to reduce the risk from wildfire, including the planting of native plants.
“The project will help create a defensible space around the park's historic ranch house and barns through the clearing of non-native species and overgrowth and the replanting of native grasses, shrubs, and trees,” said AMIA Grant Director Henry Bornstein. “At the end of the project, the entrance meadow will be restored to a more natural state and a native plant demonstration area will be created where visitors can compare the treated native entrance meadow to the adjacent untreated areas, and learn about the advantages of native plants in the control of wildfires.”
“State Parks and AMIA have continued to work together on projects which further enhance visitor experiences at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park,” said State Parks Northern Butte District Superintendent Matt Teague. “This project will provide an excellent opportunity to educate users of the park on the benefits of native habitat as it relates to wildfire intensity and management.”
In addition to Anderson Marsh, other grant winners are the California Native Plant Society for the Big Basin Redwoods State Park and Henry W. Coe State Park; California State Parks for Mount Diablo State Park; California State Parks, Bay Area District Natural Resource Management Program for Trione-Annadel State Park and Sugarloaf Ridge State Park; California State Parks, Sierra District for Ed Z'Berg Sugar Pine Point State Park; Gold Country Avian Studies for Big Basin Redwoods State Park; Sonoma Ecology Center for Sugarloaf Ridge State Park; South Yuba River Citizens League for South Yuba River State Park; Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods for Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve and Austin Creek State Recreation Area; Anahuak Youth Sports Association for Rio de Los Angeles State Park and Los Angeles State Historic Park, Bowtie Parcel; California State Parks/Poppy Reserve Mojave Desert Interpretive Association for Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park; California State Parks in partnership with Chino Hills State Park Interpretive Association and Hills For Everyone for Chino Hills State Park; and Los Angeles Audubon Society for Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook State Park and Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.
AMIA has received previous grants for projects from the California State Parks Foundation, including $5,000 in 2020 to repair the wooden boardwalk on Cache Creek Nature Trail; $3,000 in 2015 for purchasing interpretive equipment for nature walks, school field trips and senior tours; and $6,000 in 2014 for general operations.
For information about Anderson Marsh State Historic Park or AMIA, visit www.andersonmarsh.org or contact AMIA at either
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The council will meet for a budget workshop at 5 p.m. and the regular meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18.
Because of the county’s shelter in place order, Clearlake City Hall remains closed to the public, however, the virtual meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEGTV YouTube Channel. Community members also can participate via Zoom.
The agenda can be found here.
Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Melissa Swanson at
To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments prior to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18.
Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.
During its workshop, the council will hold a midyear budget review for the time period through Dec. 31.
Andrew White, the city’s police chief and its interim finance director, said in his report to the council that, overall, “revenues are exceeding projections and we are cautiously optimistic that the trend will continue. The trend is primarily being driven by higher than expected sales tax revenue, fees and permits and fines related to code enforcement violations. There was also a significant one-time revenue from the settlement of litigation related to the Sulphur Fire.”
White added, “The higher-than-expected sales tax revenue is also benefitting the Measure V and Measure P special revenue funds. However, based on economic uncertainties, staff is only recommending conservative increases to revenues to cover additional expenses.”
White said it’s also important to remember that this year’s budget relied on fund balance and coming into the year, Measure P had a negative fund balance.
“Overall, expenses are on track with budgetary projections. There was a significant increase in
health insurance costs resulting in an over $50,000 increase to the employer share of said costs, though based on projected salary savings, a budget increase is not being proposed,” White wrote.
During the regular portion of the meeting, the council will consider a request from Councilwoman Joyce Overton to establish a memorial to COVID-19 victims in Austin Park.
Overton’s report to the council said that she is proposing a small cross with the name of each individual who died from the coronavirus to be placed within the fenced rose garden in Austin Park. The garden is maintained and used to honor local Soroptimists.
She said the memorial is currently proposed to be temporary, and would be funded by private donations.
The council also will meet one of February’s adoptable dogs before holding a public hearing to consider projects and authorize the application for funding through the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation Program.
In other business, the council will consider declaring various small city-owned properties as surplus in order to offer them to the state Housing and Community Development Department for use in affordable housing in accordance with AB 1486.
Also on Thursday, the council will consider appointing a person to succeed Councilmember David Claffey on the Clearlake Marketing Committee. The two applicants are Susan Bloomquist and Kristina Nelson.
On the meeting's consent agenda – items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote – are warrants; authorization for the city manager to execute a license agreement with Mudslingers Coffee for a drive-thru coffee Facility at 14760 Olympic Drive; the Lake County Vector Control District Board minutes for Dec. 9; minutes of the January meetings; consideration of a resolution rescinding Resolution No. 2009-51, establishing purchasing procedures; and rejection of all bids for the Austin Park Bus Stop and Promenade Project.
Email Elizabeth Larson at