Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds restoration efforts at Lacks Creek
BLM partnering with Hoopa Valley Tribe on projects to restore ecosystems and improve wildfire resilience
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ARCATA, Calif. — Today, the Bureau of Land Management announced $100,000 from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will go towards completing restoration and improvement projects in the Lacks Creek Management Area in northwest California. The projects will support fire resilience and advance Tribal co-stewardship, with forestry crews from the Hoopa Valley Tribe completing projects on public lands within the Tribe’s ancestral homeland. Projects will include hazardous fuels reduction, prairie and oak woodland restoration, and maintenance of previous fuels treatments completed by the Tribe.
BLM California State Director Karen Mouritsen said the agency values the partnership with the Tribe and looks forward to upcoming accomplishments.
“We are pleased to continue our partnership with the Hoopa Tribe, which has already contributed significantly to improving conditions in the Lacks Creek Management Area near the Hoopa Reservation,” said Mourtisen. “Members of the Tribe and the public will benefit from improved conditions well into the future.”
“The Hoopa Tribe is proud to coordinate with the Bureau of Land Management to conduct forest health activities in the Lacks Creek area within the Hoopa ancestral lands,” said Tribal Vice Chair Everett Colegrove, Jr. “Our forestry department has a long mutually beneficial working relationship with the BLM and the Tribe is proud to continue this relationship.”
The work completed by the Hoopa Tribe has the long-term benefit of reducing wildfire risk and improving the health of forests, woodlands, and prairies. These projects have reduced high fuel loads and thinned dense tree populations to minimize the risk of high severity fires. They also help restore historic ecosystem conditions, treating conifers that increasingly spreading into oak woodlands and prairies.
The 8,600-acre Lacks Creek Management Area is 20 miles northwest of Eureka, California, in the Coast Range. The BLM Arcata Field Office and partners have invested more than $4 million in CAL FIRE Forest Health Program grants on habitat restoration and improvements to provide public recreation access to the site.
Lacks Creek is within the Park Protection Zone for Redwood Creek, which flows through the old-growth redwood stands in Redwood National and State Parks. Efforts to restore old growth forest stands in the Lacks Creek watershed are important to protect critical habitat for fish and wildlife, improve watershed health, and provide recreational opportunities.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.