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Amador Fire Safe Council reports $1.2M in 2025 grants, board approves letters of support
Summary
Amanda Watson of the Amador Fire Safe Council briefed the board on fuels‑reduction projects funded in 2025, said the council leveraged $3.2 million in additional funding for five projects, outlined per‑acre cost estimates and maintenance needs, and won unanimous board authorization for letters of support.
Amanda Watson, coordinator of the Amador Fire Safe Council, told the board the council received about $1.2 million in combined state and federal funding for 2025 to support fuels‑reduction projects, community fuel breaks, forest health work and ingress/egress improvements.
Watson described the council's countywide CWPP update, a new public project map and coordinated work with partners including the Amador Resource Conservation District, Bureau of Land Management and Sierra Nevada Conservancy. She said planning grants helped the council leverage an additional $3.2 million in funds for five critical projects and described completed and in‑progress work including the River Pines fuel break, Volcano Hills mastication (about 240 acres), the Upper Rancheria rear fuel break and the AmCo Forest Health Project in Buckhorn Ridge.
During questions, Watson gave cost estimates: roughly $3,000 per acre for initial mastication entries and about $300 per acre for some maintenance options such as herbicide application, with monitoring and re‑entry schedules dependent on future funding. For environmental compliance she estimated roughly $150 per acre for individual surveys and roughly $1,000 per acre once staff time and surveys are included for CEQA planning work.
Watson said the council seeks letters of support for several pending grant applications, including projects that would pair federal funding on BLM lands with private‑land work to create strategic fuel breaks. Supervisor Uf1ate moved and Supervisor Carnell seconded a motion to authorize the chairman to sign and submit the sample letters of support; the board approved the motion 5-0.
Board members praised the Fire Safe Council's progress and asked the council to provide a precise tally of acres treated over recent years; Watson said she would provide that figure to the board after checking records.
