Forest to Fuels attendees gather for a group photo, including Assemblymember Hadwick, and Assemblymember Lackey; as well as legislative staff, stakeholders, and staff from the California Natural Resources Agency, Department of Finance, and Board of Forestry. Placer County District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson, and PCWA District 4 Board Member Robert Dugan also attended the tour. Photo courtesy of PCWA

AUBURN, CA (MPG) - On April 9, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) held a Forests to Fuels Field Tour with the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) to the agency’s pump station in Auburn and the Deer Creek Fuels Reduction project outside Nevada City to show policymakers, legislative staff, and stakeholders the importance of biomass utilization facilities to support expanding forest health and wildfire resilience projects throughout the Sierra-Cascade. The tour was hosted by Assemblymember Heather Hadwick, who represents California’s 1st State Assembly District.

Forest restoration and wildfire prevention efforts create large quantities of small-diameter trees, brush, branches, and non-merchantable logs. This material is known as biomass. Biomass can be utilized to create bioenergy, fuels, soil amendments, and wood products that support the state’s climate goals and rural economic opportunities. Due to the lack of biomass utilization facilities this material is frequently left to decay or pile burned in the forest.

“California's forest health, wildfire protection, and climate resilience goals are inextricably linked to the capacity to remove, and ideally utilize, forest biomass and small diameter wood materials generated by restoration projects,” Angela Avery, executive officer at the SNC, said.

The first tour stop was PCWA’s Ophir Road Pump Station where participants learned about PCWA’s vision to develop a biomass utilization facility that would provide power for an upcoming 10 million gallons per day water treatment plant being constructed on the same property, in western Placer County. Construction groundbreaking for the water treatment plant is anticipated in fall 2026.

To meet the site’s 3-megawatt need for reliable, renewable, and affordable power, PCWA has been exploring options to utilize biomass feedstock generated from the French Meadows Forest Restoration Project and the Long Canyon Watershed Protection Project. The most promising option is a bioenergy facility that resembles the Hat Creek Bioenergy facility,

“We want to make (this facility) self-sufficient. It will be the first water treatment plant, with your help, that is built on biomass. Because we know we can do it, if we decide to do it. We just have to find out what’s necessary to get there. If we can fire this baby up with locally generated power that right now just decays and get our forests back to health so when fire burns through it, it’s creating nutrients not scars, we can make that happen. We can make that happen with everyone’s help. Let’s find a way,” Robert Dugan, PCWA Board Member, said during the tour.

The tour highlighted the importance of increasing biomass processing to successfully achieve the state’s goal of reducing overly dense fuels on roughly 1 million acres.

 As several speakers emphasized, biomass utilization is first and foremost a forest health and wildfire resilience solution, although, the clean, renewable energy generated is of great benefit to California’s climate and clean energy goals.

“We recognize how much collaboration it takes to care for our forests, and we need to keep finding innovative ways to do that. That means not only treating the forest, but also maintaining that progress by putting these materials to use,” Cindy Gustafson, Middle Fork Project Finance Authority board member and Placer County District 5 Supervisor said.

To showcase a project that found a viable pathway to utilize forest biomass generated by forest restoration work, the next stop was the Deer Creek Fuels Reduction and Forest Health Project outside the town of Nevada City. Funded by the SNC in June of 2020, the Bear Yuba Land Trust spearheaded the removal of excessive fuels on approximately 236 acres that surround rural neighborhoods, critical water infrastructure, and popular recreation trails. 

Supported by additional funding from the American Forest Foundation, crews chipped biomass from dead, diseased, and overgrown trees on site and transported it to the Rio Bravo bioenergy facility in Rocklin, Calif., where the material was used to generate enough electricity to power 406 homes for one year.

Despite the recent increase in investments in forest and wildfire resilience projects throughout the state, much of the forest residues generated remain on the landscape and are either pile burned or left to decay. Instead, this material can be turned into beneficial byproducts, which also provide local jobs, supports Sierra-Cascade economies, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, dead woody materials that remain in the forest are highly flammable and could provide fuel for future high-intensity wildfire, the very thing projects are seeking to mitigate.

This means that California's forest health, wildfire protection, and climate resilience goals are linked to the capacity to remove, and ideally utilize, forest biomass generated by restoration projects.

“Seeing these projects firsthand reinforces just how critical proactive forest management is to protecting our communities and strengthening the health of our landscapes. From innovative bioenergy efforts at the Ophir site to on-the-ground fuels reduction work, it’s clear that collaboration between local agencies, conservation partners, and stakeholders is making a real difference,” said Assemblymember Hadwick. “I’m committed to supporting investments and policies that advance these kinds of practical, science-based solutions to reduce wildfire risk, promote sustainability, and ensure our forests remain a resource for future generations.”

Those who attended the Forests to Fuels Field Tour included Assemblymember Hadwick, Assemblymember Lackey, Placer County District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson, and PCWA District 4 Board Member Robert Dugan, as well as legislative staff representing the offices of assemblymembers Hadwick, Tom Lackey, Chris Rogers, and Catherine Stefani; senators Christopher Cabaldon, and Megan Dahle. Also attending was Deputy Secretary for Forest and Wildfire Resilience, Lisa Lien-Mager, and staff from the Department of Finance and Board of Forestry.

“I want to thank all you warriors for keeping your nose to the grindstone because this is too logical to not keep pushing. Keep at it. We all deserve it. Whether you live up here or whether you live down where I live we have the same kind of problems in our forests, as well, just not as severe,” added Assemblymember Lackey, who represents District 34, which includes parts of Kern, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties. “But I will tell you we need your leadership up here because you are the only ones doing it.”

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy is a state agency tasked to improve the environmental, economic, and social well-being of California’s Sierra-Cascade region since 2004. Learn more at sierranevada.ca.gov. 

Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) is the primary water resource agency for Placer County, California, with a broad range of responsibilities including water resource planning and management, retail and wholesale supply of drinking water and irrigation water, and production of hydroelectric energy.