Sonora, CA…The Stanislaus National Forest will host a virtual open house to discuss the Social and Ecological Resiliency Across the Landscape, or SERAL project, which is currently in the initial public scoping period through Aug. 15, 2020. Forest Supervisor Jason Kuiken and members of the SERAL team will present a 20-minute overview of the SERAL project’s proposed actions starting at 5 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer period. Virtual Open House, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Meeting Link: https://tinyurl.com/SERALscoping

The SERAL project area spans approximately 117,000 acres located within the Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions’ collaborative area, south and east of the North Fork Stanislaus River and north and west of the Highway 108, with portions located on the Calaveras, Mi-Wok, and Summit Ranger districts. The SERAL proposal was developed with the objective of designing vegetation treatments that benefit the environment, the economy, and the community. The proposal includes the use of prescribed fire, hand thinning conifers, mastication, mechanical forest thinning treatments, non-native invasive weed control and limited salvage operations.

“We encourage the public to join us during the virtual open house. You can speak directly with the SERAL team, learn more about our proposed actions, and ask any questions you may have,” said Katie Wilkinson, co-lead for the SERAL project. “You’ll be part of a new, exciting project – the largest green project on the Stanislaus National Forest designed to reduce fire risk and improve forest health. We look forward to your participation.”

Once the comment period ends Aug. 15, the SERAL team will review all public comments, identify significant issues, make any needed modifications to the proposed action and/or develop additional alternatives. Another public comment period will occur when the draft Environmental Impact Statement is released, scheduled for March 2021.

To attend the virtual meeting, participants need to install the free Microsoft TEAMS program on their system. To install TEAMS and join the meeting please visit the link listed above. The TEAMS platform limits participation to 300 individuals. Due to capacity limitations, please R.S.V.P. to Katie Wilkinson at kathryn.wilkinson@usda.gov with subject “SERAL OPEN HOUSE” prior to Tuesday, Aug.4, 2020. If interest exceeds capacity, the forest will offer a second virtual meeting at a later date. All virtual open houses will be recorded and posted on the project website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=56500

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