Nevada County Joins Regional Wildfire Resilience Partnership with Placer and El Dorado

Nevada County supervisors have approved a significant regional collaboration to tackle wildfire threats and promote forest health across the Sierra Nevada.

On Tuesday, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors authorized the board chair to sign a Joint Memorandum of Association with Placer and El Dorado counties. The agreement formalizes coordination among the three neighboring Sierra counties to reduce hazardous forest fuels, support biomass utilization projects, and coordinate economic development efforts tied to forest health.

"We have the trees, projects and communities asking for action on wildfire," said Nevada County Board Chair and District 3 Supervisor Lisa Swarthout. "By working with our neighboring counties, we can attract biomass solutions that could support our local economy and help make the work of reducing wildfire risk more cost-effective."

The partnership builds on a statewide initiative launched three years ago by the California Office of Land Use and Climate Resiliency. The program, known as the California Forest Residual Aggregation Market Enhancement (Cal FRAME), identified barriers to sustainable biomass disposal and developed local Biofuel Development Opportunity Zone (BDOZ) risk ratings for the three counties.

Notably, all three counties received an "A" grade in their BDOZ assessment, signaling strong feedstock supply, infrastructure, and capacity to support new biobased facilities—a positive indicator for future investment and economic development in forest-based industries.

The memorandum establishes a framework for coordinated actions, including sharing project information, pursuing joint funding opportunities, advocating for state and federal support, promoting bioeconomy facilities, coordinating SB 1383 compliance for woody biomass, and supporting wood manufacturing projects.

County staff evaluated several organizational structures before determining that a simple memorandum was the most efficient approach to begin joint action without the complexity of forming a new governmental entity. The agreement allows flexibility and can be amended by unanimous vote of all three counties.

Placer and El Dorado county boards have already adopted the memorandum. With Nevada County's approval, the three counties can now formally move forward with joint projects aimed at reducing wildfire threats while creating new opportunities in the region's forest-based economy.

"The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors has designated forest health, wildfire management and biomass utilization as top priorities," said Carla B. Hass, El Dorado County Deputy Chief Administrative Officer. "We're delighted to be part of this important memorandum that will benefit the safety of our collective residents and businesses in our fire-prone areas, develop a new workforce and support new and existing wood products and bioenergy markets."

This collaboration represents a proactive approach to the dual challenges of wildfire risk reduction and economic development, positioning Nevada County as part of a unified regional strategy for forest management and community protection.