MARIPOSA – After another wet winter and above average snow pack, warming temperatures and winds are quickly drying out the abundant annual grass crop. The increasing fire danger posed by the high volume of dead grass and hotter, drier conditions in the region is prompting CAL FIRE to suspend all burn permits for outdoor residential burning within the State Responsibility ...

BASS LAKE — Motorists on Road 274 could experience 20-30 minute delays for the next several months as crews conduct the largest tree mortality mitigation operation in the county’s history. Beginning Monday, June 3 and continuing through Aug. 1, some 5,600 dead or dying trees will be cut down and removed along Road 274, which borders Bass Lake’s scenic north ...

MADERA – Brittany Dyer has been Madera County District 5 Supervisor Tom Wheeler’s Chief of Staff since Feb. 2014, and is now moving on to serve as California State Director for American Forests. American Forests is a 143-year-old national non-profit based out of Washington D.C. They have completed natural resource projects including reforestation for many years in California but due ...

By Brian Moore — MOUNTAIN AREA — Hugelkultur builds garden mounds using tree trunks, limbs, branches, leaves, decaying organic matter (compost) and soil as a planting base. Hugelkultur mimics a forest floor’s process of decomposition and regeneration. Hugelkultur can improve soil vibrancy, water holding ability and soil heating. But what is with the name? In the late 1970’s two German ...

MARIPOSA  – After another wet winter, warming temperatures and winds are quickly drying out the abundant annual grass crop. The increasing fire danger posed by the high volume of dead grass and hotter, drier conditions in the region is prompting Cal Fire to suspend all burn permits for outdoor residential burning within the State Responsibility Area of Madera, Mariposa and ...

NORTH FORK – Two couples with deep roots in the local logging industry have been chosen to serve as Grand Marshals for the 59th annual Mid-Sierra Loggers Jamboree. Jon and Judi Norby, and Patrick Emmert and Susan Waters have been selected for the honor by the North Fork Boosters, who will host the popular event the weekend of July 7 ...

Submitted by Sandy Chaille – NORTH FORK – The North Fork Community Development Council (CDC) will hold its annual meeting on Monday, Mar. 26, and the public is invited to participate. The meeting will be held at the Rancheria’s Community Center (up on the hill) with doors opening at 5 p.m. and refreshments served by the North Fork Women’s Club. ...

SAN FRANCISCO – The North Fork bioenergy plant has just cleared another hurdle toward getting the project up and running. They have now been offered a power purchase agreement from Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). North Fork Community Power, LLC, is a joint venture between Phoenix Energy and the North Fork Community Development Council that will own and operate a ...

NORTH FORK — If you are looking for proof that fuel reduction and preventative activities work, look no further than the community of Cascadel Woods, says Yosemite/Sequoia Resource Conservation and Development Council (Y/S RC&DC) Project Manager Justine Reynolds. The fast-moving Mission Fire destroyed three homes on its way up the mountain to Cascadel Woods. While credit is always due to ...

YOSEMITE — With smoke from the Empire Fire affecting many iconic views in Yosemite National Park, many may wonder why they are allowed to burn. Recent weather events have sparked at least seven lightning fires in the park — most less than one-quarter acre —  and those fires are all part of the natural ecology of the area, as was ...