CalVTP Q&A: How to make the most of the CalVTP Program EIR
Thursday, January 30, 2025, 10:00am – 12:30pm
Link to webinar registration
This webinar includes a panel of specialists working on various aspects of California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) implementation, including forestry and fuels management, as well as CEQA and other regulatory compliance. These specialists will answer your questions about the CalVTP with the goal of increasing participants’ understanding of how to prepare Project-Specific Analyses (PSAs) to expedite implementation of treatments including maximizing the usefulness of the CalVTP Program EIR.
Heather Blair, Principal at Ascent, and Lara Rachowicz, Senior Ecologist at Ascent, will discuss how to use the CalVTP Program EIR's inherent flexibility to streamline CEQA compliance and other efficient regulatory pathways to expedite project implementation. Steve Auten, Owner of Auten Resource Consulting, and Shelby Kranich, Manager of Forest Resilience Strategy at Auten Resource Consulting, will address the development and implementation of CalVTP PSAs, focusing on compliance both within and outside the Coastal Zone, as well as insights on compliance with the Forest Practice Act. Kristina Wolf, Senior Environmental Scientist for the Board of Forestry & Fire Protection, will overview the contribution of the CalVTP toward achieving California's vegetation treatment goals and discuss the requirements for submitting environmental documentation for CalVTP projects. Cori Hansen, Senior Environmental Scientist at CAL FIRE, will cover CAL FIRE's Vegetation Management Program (VMP) and provide insights from her experience as a reviewer of many PSAs. Nick Wallingford, Deputy Chief at CAL FIRE Northern Region, will address CAL FIRE’s forest health priorities and guidance on seeking grant funding from CAL FIRE.
Link to presentation abstracts
Trainers:
Heather Blair, Principal, Ascent
Heather Blair is a principal with 20 years of experience managing complex environmental projects throughout California. Her practice includes natural resource management, CEQA and NEPA compliance, and environmental policy and regulation. Having prepared multiple statewide Program EIRs, including the Program EIR for the California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP), Heather is a specialist in landscape-scale environmental review and strategic CEQA streamlining. She is actively assisting public agencies and non-governmental organizations with CEQA and other regulatory compliance approaches to expedite the implementation of urgent wildfire and forest resilience projects.
Lara Rachowicz, Senior Ecologist, Ascent
Lara Rachowicz, PhD, is a senior ecologist with 24 years of technical and project management experience throughout California, with a focus on special-status species. She supports environmental review and planning by providing strategic guidance and technical expertise. Lara specializes in advancing efficient CEQA and regulatory compliance strategies for ecosystem resilience and wildfire risk reduction projects and is actively engaged with the US Fish and Wildlife Agency and California Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop effective strategies to avoid impacts to threatened and endangered wildlife species from vegetation treatment projects. She assists public agencies with CalVTP project-specific analyses that expedite the implementation of wildfire resilience treatments while providing protection of sensitive resources.
Steve Auten, Owner and Principal, Auten Resource Consulting
Steve graduated Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (CPSLO) with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry in 1998.
From 2000 – 2005, Steve worked as a forester for Big Creek Lumber Company where he obtained his Registered Professional Foresters license in 2003.
in 2005, Steve became Resource Manager for Cal Poly Swanton Pacific Ranch (SPR) and obtained a Master’s in Forest Science in 2012 based on work in wildfire tree mortality from the 2009 Lockheed Incident that swept through SPR’s property.
In 2013, Steve became the Operations Manager for SPR with charge of day-to-day operations for forestry, rangeland, organic agriculture, and watershed management.
In 2019, Steve left SPR to start Auten Resource Consulting specializing in forestry, fuels, and resource management. ARC currently leads the forestry side of several landscape level forest health restoration projects in San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, and San Luis Obispo Counties. ARC has a staff of eight foresters specializing in a variety of different resource related disciplines.
ARC has a staff of eight foresters specializing in the California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) Project Specific Analysis (PSA), CAL FIRE Forest Practice Rules and associated permits, CEQA categorical exemptions, Forest Health and Fire Prevention Grants, CAL FIRE certified archaeological surveys, ARC GIS PRO, agency consultations, climate and fire resilience related project development, and contractor permit compliance.
Shelby Kranich, Manager of Forest Resilience Strategy, RPF #3249, Auten Resource Consulting
Registered Professional Forester #3249 and the Manager of Forest Resilience Strategy, Shelby Kranich, graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry concentrating in Wildland Fire and Fuels Management. Having been born and raised in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Ms. Kranich developed a deep interest in the unique forested and vegetative ecosystems that span from the ridges to coastline and was hopeful to return after college. Prior to obtaining her degree, Ms. Kranich took to her passion of forest management by spending several summers in college working on the steep forested terrain of the Santa Cruz Mountains conducting fieldwork and planning for all aspects of forestry, much of which consisted of collecting and analyzing data for a tree mortality assessment following the 2009 Lockheed Fire.
Ms. Kranich began working for ARC Forestry in June 2020 and has since built a wide skillset developing and strategizing some of the largest forest health and fuels reduction projects completed and ongoing in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Following the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire, she led post-fire forest assessments, monitoring, and planning efforts over approximately 24,000 acres of the burn scar with the ARC Forestry team. As the Manager of Forest Resilience Strategy, Ms. Kranich supports the development of and conducts final review of all Forest Management Plans and Management Strategy documents, CEQA documents, and non-CAL FIRE permits. To date, Ms. Kranich has operated as a project lead in which she leads planning meetings, coordinates field investigations, oversees active operations on several projects for contractor and permit compliance, and designs and develops large-scale permitting and planning documents. Ms. Kranich also specializes in field verification, layout, GIS, vegetation mapping, forest measurements and monitoring, agency negotiations, and surveys for cultural and historic resources.
Kristina Wolf, Senior Environmental Scientist for the Board of Forestry & Fire Protection
Dr. Kristina M. Wolf, Senior Environmental Scientist for the Board of Forestry & Fire Protection (‘Board’), manages the activities and business of the Range Management Advisory Committee (RMAC), a statutory committee which advises the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection on rangeland resources, along with being a Certified Range Manager in the State of California. The RMAC is the only range-related policy body in the State. Dr. Wolf addresses range policy, resource needs, and issues surrounding resources on working rangelands throughout California. She has a BS in Animal Science, a MS in Soil Science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and a PhD in Ecology from UC Davis, with a focus on the ecology, economics, and social considerations of rangeland management in California. Dr. Wolf coordinates regular public meetings of the RMAC, works with stakeholders to address rangeland needs across the State, and works with partners to develop an annual rangeland education and outreach series
Cori Hansen, Senior Environmental Scientist, Vegetation Management Program, CAL FIRE
Cori Hansen is a Senior Environmental Scientist in CAL FIRE’s Vegetation Management Program (VMP). In this position, Cori reviews prescribed fire and other fuel reduction planning documents to ensure projects are environmentally compliant, adhere to CAL FIRE policies and are protective of natural resource values. Additionally, Cori assists with VMP staff trainings, environmental document preparation and provides ecological expertise. She holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in environmental science and has over 12 years’ experience working in environmental protection and regulation in Northern California. Prior to joining CAL FIRE, Cori spent several years working at CDFW and the Regional Water Quality Control Boards and is knowledgeable in CEQA, Fish and Game Code, Forest Practice Rules, Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, Endangered Species Acts and associated permitting.
Nick Wallingford, Deputy Chief, CAL FIRE Northern Region
Nick Wallingford serves as the Deputy of Chief of Planning and Special Operations for CAL FIRE Northern Region in Redding. He began his career with CAL FIRE in 2002 as a Firefighter in Shasta County. Since then, Nick has worked in San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Trinity, and San Benito Counties. In addition to fire operations, Nick has held multiple fire prevention and planning positions in the department and has specialized experience in pre-fire engineering, land use planning, damage inspection (post fire), defensible space inspections (pre fire), the Vegetation Management Program, and Wildfire Prevention Grants Program. Nick graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a BS degree in Forestry and Natural Resource Management concentrating in Fire and Fuel Management with a minor in Geographic Information Systems.
