Public Works Plan in Practice: Lessons Learned from Rancho Rico Community Fuels Treatment Project
February 20th, 2025, 9:00 – 11:30am
Link to webinar registration
This webinar is an opportunity for participants to increase their understanding of how to navigate the Public Works Plan (PWP) to restore forest health in mixed conifer, oak woodland, and coastal redwood forest habitats using ecologically appropriate vegetation treatments to increase wildfire resiliency and community wildfire safety.
Jamie Tuitele-Lewis, Forest Health Coordinator at the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County, will discuss the background of the Rancho Rico project and the ecology of the area and sensitivities regarding wildfire prevention work in this locale. Rayner Marx, Program Manager at Fire Adapted Big Sur, will explain how neighborhood wildfire mitigation efforts make the entire community more wildfire-resilient, with private and local/Tribal/state/federal organizations working together. Tim Montgomery, Unit Forester at CAL FIRE BEU, will discuss the purpose of CAL FIRE grants and the CalVTP. Ben Eichorn, Owner of Coast Wildland and Grant Manager for the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County (ETMC) Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grant, will focus on the distinct types of grants available for tribal entities in support of returning to indigenous land stewardship practices. Megan Barker, Environmental Scientist at the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County, will cover the process of coastal permitting for fuels reduction work through the Monterey County Forest Health and Fire Resilience Public Works Plan (PWP) and how it differs from inland projects solely using the Board of Forestry’s California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP). Tom Little Bear Nason, Tribal Chairman Esselen Tribe of Monterey County and Co-owner of Ventana Forestry, will share from his decades of experience working as a Native American contractor, sharing knowledge and experience of vegetation management in ESHA.
| Time | Item |
|---|---|
| 9:00am | Webinar begins |
|
Jamie Tuitele-Lewis: Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Program Manager |
|
|
Rayner Marx: Community Impact and Fire Adapted Communities |
|
| Tim Montgomery: CAL FIRE Grants & CalVTP | |
| 9:58am | Break |
| Ben Eichorn: Esselen Tribe of Monterey County (ETMC) Wildfire Resilience, Forest Health, Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Cultural Resource Revitalization Project | |
| Megan Barker: Coastal Fuels Reduction Through the Public Works Plan | |
| Jamie Tuitele-Lewis: Rancho Rico Landowner Perspective | |
| Tom Little Bear Nason: A Tribal Leader and Contractor's Perspective on Wildfire Resilience | |
| Q&A Discussion | |
| 11:30am |
Webinar ends |
Link to presentation abstracts
Trainers:
Jamie Tuitele-Lewis, Forest Health Coordinator, Resource Conservation District of Monterey County
Jamie Tuitele-Lewis is the Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Program Manager at the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County (RCDMC). Jamie has an undergraduate degree in botany from the University of Hawai’i and a graduate degree in forest ecology from Oregon State University. He has been with the RCDMC since November 2018 and since that time, has helped to secure two wildfire prevention grants, three capacity grants and a large multi-resource climate resiliency grant, along with assisting with writing at least two other successful fire prevention and capacity grants for other organizations. Jamie’s other work duties consists of grant management, project management, coordination with local and regional partners and providing technical assistance to landowners in Monterey County regarding forestry, ecology and wildfire prevention. He lives in Monterey with his family and enjoys hiking, music, art and surfing.
Megan Barker, Environmental Scientist, Resource Conservation District of Monterey County
Megan Barker has been working as an Environmental Scientist at the RCD of Monterey County since 2016. She currently supports the RCD in environmental permitting, biological surveys, and project management of forest health and fire resiliency, steelhead passage, and construction/engineering projects. She is also a videographer and drone operator.
Tom Little Bear Nason, Tribal Chairman, Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, Co-owner, Ventana Forestry
Tom Little Bear has 50+ years of fire management experience. He has overseen and managed dozens of large-scale fire management and fuel reduction projects throughout the state of CA, including 4 of Governor Newsom’s 34 priority projects, in 2019 and 2020, one of which was conducted in Palo Colorado Canyon near Big Sur, CA. Tom’s specialties include forestry, forest health, fire suppression/rehabilitation, post-fire restoration, fuel reduction and vegetation management, ecological restoration, heavy equipment operation, environmental compliance, Esselen TEK, cultural fire burn operations, and cultural resource protection.
Benjamin R. Eichorn, Owner, Coast Wildland and Grant Manager, ETMC Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grant
Ben was Born and raised in the ancestral territory of the Esselen Tribe. He is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist (WE-15536A), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist, Past volunteer Firefighter/EMT with the Mid-Coast Fire Brigade, Organic Farmer, Past nonprofit executive, and the Founder and Owner of Coast Wildand, a resource management consulting firm based in Carmel, CA.
Rayner Marx, Program Manager, Fire Adapted Big Sur
Rayner is the Program Manager for Fire Adapted Big Sur (FABS), a Community of Association of Big Sur (CABS) program. Rayner co-founded FABS to assist residents and businesses in Big Sur to become more wildfire-resilient, using the Fire Adapted Communities (National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy) framework. Experience includes eight years with Big Sur Fire, author, and a career in information technology.
Tim Montgomery, Unit Forester, CAL FIRE BEU
Tim Montgomery is the Unit Forester for the CAL FIRE San-Benito Monterey Unit (BEU). Tim is a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a BS in Forestry and Natural Resources with a concentration in Wildfire and Fuels Management and a minor in Geographic Information Systems for Agriculture. Tim also holds a Master of Science degree in Natural Resources from Humboldt State University. Prior to his current position, he has worked in the private Forest Products Industry and Forestry Consulting as well as a CAL FIRE Defensible Space Inspector, and CAL FIRE Forest Practice Officer. Tim is a Registered Professional Forester.
Tim is currently the Unit Grants Administrator, Unit CEQA Administrator, and a VMP Coordinator for CAL FIRE BEU primarily focused on fuels reduction and prescribed fire. In addition, he is also heavily involved in CAL FIRE’s UAS (Unmanned Air Systems) program at the Unit and State level. He also responds to all hazard emergencies across the state throughout the year and has a variety of fire-line and emergency response qualifications.
