Burned trees in Sequoia National Park
Credit: USFS
June 17, 2023 - SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS, Cali. - Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have decided to mitigate thousands of tree hazards along road corridors following the KNP Complex Wildfire that burned through the parks in fall of 2021. This action will minimize risk to human safety and infrastructure from fallen tree hazards resulting for the KNP Complex Wildfire.
As part of this action, the parks will also treat much of the debris that falls within 80 feet of the road’s edge that will protect passageways that serve as fire breaks, evacuation routes, and access for firefighters and other emergency personnel. This project is anticipated to begin this summer and will likely continue in 2024.
The KNP Complex Wildfire burned over 88,000 acres of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and adjacent lands during the fall of 2021, resulting in high levels of tree mortality across the landscape and adding to the already extensive levels of conifer mortality previously documented within the parks and throughout the Sierra Nevada. Where dead or defective trees overlap with developed areas, some are considered tree hazards, meaning they pose a direct risk to human safety and property due to the likelihood of their failure and potential to hit a human or man-made target.
The decision, which is referred to as a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), represents the final stage in the National Park Service’s project development, review, and approval process. This included public scoping on the proposed action in summer 2022, Tribal and agency consultation, and most recently, the development and spring 2023 public review of an environmental assessment. All comments received during this planning effort informed the parks’ final decision on how to best address the safety issues stemming from these wildfire dead tree hazards while minimizing impacts to natural and cultural resources and visitor experience.
The FONSI was written in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and identifies the selected alternative to minimize the threat to public safety and parks’ infrastructure resulting from dead tree hazards or otherwise damaged by the KNP Complex Wildfire. Compliance with other applicable resource protection laws has also been completed.
The FONSI and supporting documentation is available on the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website at: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/KNPTreeHazards.
National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 47050 Generals Highway Three Rivers, CA 93271
About Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
These two parks, which lie-side-by-side in the southern Sierra Nevada in Central California, serve as a prime example of nature’s size, beauty, and diversity. Over 2 million visitors from across the U.S. and the world visit these parks for the world’s largest trees (by volume), grand mountains, rugged foothills, deep canyons, vast caverns, the highest point in the lower 48 states, and more. Learn more at http://www.nps.gov/seki.
Source: NPS
