Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest THIS IS WHO Values based. WE Purpose driven. ARE Relationship focused. Forest Service 2020 Year in Review OUR MISSION: To sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. Forest Botanist/Invasive Plant Program Supervisor Dirk Netz presents his program accomplishments. FOREST SUPERVISOR MESSAGE For more than 100 years, the USDA Forest The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest employees Service has brought people and strongly believe and share in the Forest Service mission of sustaining the health, diversity, and productivity communities together to answer the of National Forest System lands to meet the needs of present and future generations. This mission not only call of conservation. defines who we are, but also drives our values, purpose, and relationships. Driven by personal and agency values, our purpose focuses on our relationships with each other and the people we serve. We are VALUES BASED, PURPOSE DRIVEN, and RELATIONSHIP FOCUSED. We strive to be caring, respectful, trustworthy, inclusive, and responsive and hope our partners and communities share that view of us. Bill Dunkelberger Forest Supervisor 2 3 We especially leaned on our values, purpose, and ThisIn short, “Year this inpublication Review” describes report WHO is based WE ARE on relationships in 2020, when our business and personal worlds were drastically altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. the Forest Service’s “THIS IS WHO WE The pandemic led to a significant increase in recreation and visitation on the Forest as people sought mental and ARE” publication. It has been modified to physical renewal. We also experienced an extremely busy showcase the Humboldt-Toiyabe National wildfire year in 2020, hosting eight Incident Management Teams with significant fires occurring as early as April Forest and its 2020 accomplishments. and as late as November. By staying true to the Forest Service’s mission, we were able to overcome the challenges presented by this unprecedented year. Amid the disruption of work and home life, Forest employees stepped up and found ways to provide safe recreation opportunities to a record number of visitors, mitigate virus spread while successfully mobilizing large wildfire suppression efforts, continue to meet or exceed targets, and address the safety needs of all employees. The past year has taught us that we are capable of much more than we previously thought. Thanks to all employees, volunteers, partners, and community members for your patience, resilience, creativity, and determination Santa Rosa Ranger District during these tough times. Because of you, we were able in Northern Nevada. to accomplish more than we ever would have thought In 2020, Jon Stansfield was possible during these challenging times. While it is hired as the new Deputy Forest impossible to say what 2021 will be like, I am confident we Supervisor. will meet any challenges it may bring as we continue caring for the land and serving people. Sincerely, The Forest Service’s “This is Who We Are” publication can be viewed at https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/this-is-who-we-are The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest’s “Year In Review” can be viewed at Bill Dunkelberger, Forest Supervisor https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/htnf/maps-pubs/?cid=FSEPRD573288 4 5 ; OUR PURPOSE AND VALUE Why we do what we do The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, which is the The Forest Service was created on the largest national forest in the lower 48 states, is essential to the ecological, physical, biological, economic, cultural, principle of managing the Nation’s natural and social well-being of communities in Nevada and resources “for the greatest good, for the portions of eastern California. greatest number, for the longest time.” The Forest manages its 6.3 million acres for multiple uses to meet the diverse needs of people, ensure the health of natural resources, provide recreational opportunities, manage wildfire, guard against invasive threats, and work with state and private forest landowners, cities, and communities. The Forest also supports sustainable stewardship through direct natural resource management; the pursuit and exchange of knowledge; and partnerships with private, PHOTO: Forest Fuels and Vegetation Program Manager Duncan Leao explains tree county, state, and other federal landowners. health on the Carson Ranger District to a television reporter. 6 7 2020 ACCOMPLISHMENTS • Signed a Shared Stewardship Agreement with the Nevada Governor, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in November 2019. This agreement committed state and federal agencies to expand working relationships, jointly set priorities and implement projects at the appropriate scale, co-manage risk, and share resources. In 2020 the Nevada Shared Stewardship Executive Committee members worked with staff to identify priority landscapes for wildfire risk reduction using the best available science and collaboratively sourced data. Also, agencies continue to work with local partners in the top two identified areas in developing specific area projects. • Currently implementing $18 million in Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act projects on Carson, Ely, and Mountain City-Ruby Moun- tains-Jarbidge Ranger Districts, as well as Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. These projects include land acquisition, recreation facilities upgrade, fuels reduction, invasive weed control, and wildlife habitat improve- ment. The Carson and Ely Ranger Districts, and Spring Mountains National Recreation Area submitted proposals requesting funding for the next round of TOP: Automation Assistant Linda Bernardi works the front desk at the Austin-Tonopah Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act funding. Ranger District’s Tonopah Office in Tonopah, • Received $150,000 through the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Part- Nevada. BOTTOM: Ely District Ranger Jose Noriega sells Christmas tree permits in front of nership to help restore the landscape that was burned in the 233,462-acre one of the local grocery stores in Ely, Nevada. South Sugarloaf Fire on the Mountain City-Ruby Mountains-Jarbidge Ranger District in 2018. This funding, along with additional funding received from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Forest Service Intermountain Regional Office, was used to treat invasive weed species, im- Mission prove the safety of road infrastructure, and replace damaged range infrastruc- To sustain the health, diversity, and productivity ture, such as fences and troughs. of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the • Completed the Austin-Tonopah Vegetation Analysis, Prioritization, and Res- toration Strategy for 2.1 million acres across six mountain ranges in Central needs of present and future generations. Nevada. This strategy paves the way for federal, state, local, and non-profit partners to collaborate in identifying priorities across administrative boundar- Motto ies for landscape planning and funding. Virtual meetings are slated for Spring 2021 and will focus on wildland urban interface planning. Caring for the Land and Serving People • Sold over three tons of commercial pine nuts, 2,000 cords of personal use fuelwood, and 8,000 Christmas tree permits. Transitioned sales of forest To view the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest fact sheet, please visit: products to mail-in or non-contact sales to minimize the impacts and spread https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd498235.pdf of COVID-19. 8 9 OUR DYNAMIC TENSIONS Teaching us to think outside the box Operating in an unfamiliar The COVID- 19 pandemic presented enormous challenges for the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in 2020. The environment allowed the Forest Forest met these challenges head-on by working together to come up with creative solutions with partners as well as local, state, and other federal agencies to find creative solutions to minimize the impact to accomplish our mission. and spread of the virus. Various mitigation measures were put in place to ensure employee and public health while still providing necessary public services, handle the substantial increase in recreation use, complete conservation work, and fight wildfires. PHOTO (left to right): Recreation Staff Officer Lindsey Steinwachs, Developed Recreation Director Jonathan Stein, and Recreation Technician Taylor Tims share camping tips on the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area with Outdoor Nevada crew members. 10 11 2020 ACCOMPLISHMENTS • Developed strategies at all Forest offices to allow the public to continue to obtain maps, recreation passes, and forest products and wilderness permits while protecting the health and safety of all, in accordance with federal and state COVID-19 guidelines. Many virtual services developed because of COVID-19 mitigation were successful and some aspects will continue into the future. • Worked tirelessly to provide a safe and quality recreation experience for Forest visitors. In response to COVID-19, the Forest developed new safety protocols to deep clean all recreation facilities. Additionally, Forest em- ployees hosted state/federal recreation coordination calls to align recreation messaging, identify best management practices to ensure the safety of agency staff and visitors while protecting facilities and natural resources, and to coordinate closures. • Developed numerous protocols and procedures associated with COVID-19 mitigation for the safety of field personnel. A