Grass Valley wins two grants for wildfire fuels reduction and active-transportation planning

City staff and visiting partners briefed the council on two grant awards intended to reduce wildfire risk and plan a connected trail network.

Dwayne Strausser, the city’s community risk reduction manager, described a Sierra Nevada Conservancy award that will fund fuels reduction and forest-thinning on roughly 247 acres in the Wolf Creek and southwest Grass Valley corridor. Strausser said the project budget is $720,000 and will use a variety of treatments — including prescribed cultural burning, hand thinning, riparian protections and grazing — and that modeling by partners including PG&E and Zylo Plan helped prioritize the most hazardous zones.

‘‘This is a 247-acre project ... $720,000,’’ Strausser said, adding that the work aims to reduce hazardous fuels, protect trails and create long-term, lower-maintenance vegetation patterns.

Chris Dallas of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy introduced the agency’s regional role and said the Conservancy awarded the funding after seeing the city’s plan and a recent site visit.

Deputy City Manager Taylor Wedington also announced a separate $500,000 Community Planning and Capacity grant from the California Air Resources Board to advance the "Future Passive Grass Valley Everyday Mobility Connecting People and Places Project." Wedington said the two‑year CARB grant will support planning for off‑street trails, greenways and shared‑use pathways linking neighborhoods, schools, parks and businesses and will involve partners including Bear Yuba Land Trust and the Nevada City Rancheria.

Why it matters: The fuels‑reduction award directly funds on‑the‑ground work to reduce wildfire risk in a high‑priority corridor. The CARB grant funds planning to improve active-transportation connectivity and position the city to compete for future construction funds.

What’s next: Staff indicated they will follow up with partners and public outreach; the presentation closed with council thanks. No council actions or votes tied specifically to the grants were recorded in the meeting transcript beyond accepting the update.

Quotes: "...we were awarded by a board... for 247 acres of forest thinning in the Wolf Creek area ... $720,000," — Dwayne Strausser, community risk reduction manager. "This grant will allow the city and our community partners to develop a long-term vision for a connected network of off-street trails," — Taylor Wedington, Deputy City Manager.

Ending: Council thanked presenters and moved to the next agenda items; staff will coordinate outreach and implementation steps through existing departmental channels.