FM-5154-NV Public Notice 001

INITIAL PUBLIC NOTICE: South Douglas County Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project, Douglas County, Nevada | HMGP 5154-09-9

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) intends to provide federal financial assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to the Nevada Division of Forestry (NDF), to remove hazardous fuels in the Topaz Lake, Holbrook Highlands, and Topaz Ranch Estates communities in the southern portion of Douglas County, Nevada. The proposed action would mitigate impacts from wildfires by reducing hazardous fuels around residential properties and wildland areas. Pursuant to Executive Order 11990 (Wetlands Management) and FEMA’s implementing regulations at Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 9, FEMA hereby provides interested parties with a notice of its intent to carry out an action affecting a wetland.

The purpose of the proposed action is to reduce wildfire hazards. The proposed action consists of (1) conducting NDF inspections of properties; (2) creating fuels collection sites for homeowners and contractors; (3) creating defensible space around 500 residential properties; and (4) removing hazardous fuels on 164 acres of wildland areas. Project activities would include eliminating ladder fuels and increasing canopy spacing using mowers, chainsaws, and mastication equipment and applying herbicide. Herbicide would be applied by towed misters using a small, motorized vehicle and following the product label application instructions. Herbicide would not be applied within 200 feet of water sources and riparian areas.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory map identified wetlands within the Holbrook Highlands community. There are 5.8 acres of freshwater emergent wetlands in the southeast corner of the community and 1.6 acres freshwater emergent wetlands and 0.6-acre of freshwater forested/shrub wetlands in the southwest corner of the community within the project area.

Additional information about FEMA’s proposed action, including maps showing the potential impacts to wetlands, may be obtained by writing the FEMA Region IX Environmental Officer at FEMA, 1111 Broadway, Suite 1200, Oakland, California 94607, or fema-rix-ehp-documents@fema.dhs.gov, or calling (510) 627-7027. All requests should be received within 15 days after publication of this notice.