Placerville, CA…..Wildlife in the Eldorado National Forest will have a better place to live near Sly Park and Fleming Meadow when a habitat improvement project is completed under a PG&E powerline. Thanks to a grant from the California State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Foundation, the Forest Service intends create a mosaic of different wildlife habitats on National Forest land located within a ¾ mile section of a PG&E powerline right of way and ¼ mile of nearby access road. The project is known as the Sciaroni Tapline. The National Wild Turkey Foundation grant program, called “Energy for Wildlife,” is intended to help create habitat under powerlines which currently may not support vegetation.

According to Susan Yasuda, Forest Service wildlife biologist and leader of the habitat improvement project, this is the first “Energy for Wildlife” project in California to be funded by the National Wild Turkey Foundation. “The project will be designed to benefit a wide variety of wildlife species,” said Yasuda. The project will involve removing seedlings and saplings and to replace them with more favorable forage and cover species for wildlife. Bare areas will be planted with low growing cover plants, and wet areas will be improved by rehabilitating eroded areas by planting appropriate grass and shrubs. Anyone interested in the proposed project should contact Susan Yasuda at the Placerville District Ranger Station in Camino.

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http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado/news/2007/nr_wildlife_0507.pdf

NEWS RELEASE
USDA Forest Service
Eldorado National Forest
100 Forni Road, Placerville, CA 95667
Date: May 9, 2007 Contact: Frank Mosbacher
Release: Upon Receipt Phone: 530-621-5268
TTY 530-642-5122