Butte County Resource Conservation District

08/25/2026

Hey Prescribed Fire People!

The application for 2026 Fall Butte Cal-TREX is open! This week of prescribed fire training will take place Monday, Nov 2nd through Thursday, Nov 5th, in Butte County, CA. An RT-130 will also be available on October 2nd if you need to keep your NWCG certs current leading up to the event. The week will focus on hands-on learning opportunities and developing crew cohesion. We will prioritize live fire if a burn window opens. Training will incorporate equipment utilization, weather and fuel observations, fireline leadership skills, medical scenarios, communication, burn planning, and fire ecology. All skill levels are welcome!

Please note that this is an application, and participation will be capped at 60 people. Filling out this form does not guarantee admission. We will contact you before the event to confirm your participation. Registration is $50, and we will not collect this fee until/if your participation is confirmed. Please complete and submit this registration by 5 pm on Friday, September 4th, if you are interested in participating!

Click this link to register! https://forms.gle/TkJTaA2DgQv2Nb1y5

07/29/2026

WHY ARE GUYS WEARING TYVEK SUITS AT MY TRAILHEAD?!

Public access is closed off right now to the U.S. Forest Service-Plumas National Forest parcel on Coutelenc at Skyway (where you can hike to the West Branch, right across from Sawmill Peak). Contractors are building some sturdy, rustic new fence to protect the rare trees. Thing is, the bedrock and soil in this area contains naturally occurring asbestos --always has, always will--! And if you disturb it and kick up dust, that dust can contain asbestos. Hence, the Tyvek PPE to keep the workers safe. Thanks to good guidance from Butte County Air Quality Management District and local oversight firm GuziWest, there's no danger to anyone off the property. The crew are watering the ground as they work, so exposure levels will stay at baseline.

This naturally occurring asbestos (and the slightly toxic soil it supports) is partly why there are such cool super-rare plants here, by the way! When it's done, the new fence will protect some of these rare plants. Soon, an easy, 1/3-mile interpretive trail will welcome all ages to learn about them.

Please don't park in the parking lot right now. We know people are still going to walk through, but we ask folks to limit their visits to non-working hours (evenings and weekends). And be nice to the contractors if you see 'em, they're a hardworking tight family operation and they're just trying to get a good job done ASAP.

07/09/2026

06/12/2026

This time of year, Butte RCD staff are out on U.S. Forest Service-Plumas National Forest and U.S. Forest Service-Lassen National Forest lands, hand-pulling invasive bull thistle. As an added reward, the roots of these invaders are a tasty vegetable!

To try this at home, just..... 1) Consult a good field guide/knowledgeable neighbor (THE APP ON YOUR PHONE IS NOT RELIABLE). Get confident you can tell bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) from our beloved native thistles. 2) Pull any bull thistles you can find 3) Fry, bake, boil, or do whatever you want with 'em!

No need to peel 'em. (With bigger or more mature roots, though, you may find the core is too woody to eat and the "rind" is the best part.) Pairs well with invasive bullfrog legs and a nice invasive blackberry c***r!

06/12/2026

Applications for the 2026 BirdReturns – Late Summer Farmlands Habitat Program open soon!
This program provides financial incentives for farmers and landowners in the Sacramento Valley and Delta to create temporary shallow-flooded habitat for migratory birds during the critical late summer/early fall period.

Application period: June 1- June 22 at 11:59pm (PST)
Program notification: July 20
Program Enrollment Period: August 3-October 2 (5-week commitment; 3 weeks of flooding, 2 weeks of evaporative drawdown)
How to Apply: Submit a one-page application form with a proposed price per acre and a field map.

For more details and how to apply, please visit:

Seeking Sacramento Valley and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Farmers – help save birds in one of California’s critical landscapes in ways that can improve the resilience of Central Valley farming

05/31/2026

What an incredible season so far for the Butte PBA. We've hosted 24 live fire trainings, and with the cool, rainy weather, we're still burning.

On Monday, June 1st, PBA volunteers, neighbors, and partner organizations will be burning up to 6 acres of timber understory to improve defensible space and reduce hazardous fuels along evacuation routes in Forest Ranch ahead of wildfire season.

Smoke may be visible from Chico and beyond. Please do not report a wildfire unless you suspect it is NOT our prescribed fire.

All of our burns are conducted by a diverse mix of community members, prescribed fire practitioners, and fire professionals in accordance with CAL FIRE and Butte County Air Quality Management District regulations.

Thank you for supporting community-led prescribed fire!

04/30/2026

The Butte Prescribed Burn Association is pleased to welcome the Cohasset Ridge Prescribed Burn Association to Butte County's beneficial fire community!

https://www.cohassetridgepba.org/

We are excited to see the continued growth of prescribed fire work in our region, and we look forward to the positive impact the Cohasset Ridge PBA will bring.

The Butte PBA remains available to any landowner in the county
who requests assistance, including those in the Cohasset Ridge area, but we are excited that landowners there will have a new resource for their prescribed fire needs. Though we operate independently, the Butte PBA and Cohasset Ridge PBA have a common goal, and we welcome opportunities to collaborate and advance prescribed fire across Butte County.

The sprouting of new, separate prescribed burn associations in Butte County is a positive development for landscape health, fire resilience, and our broader community. We wish the Cohasset Ridge PBA great success in their work!

The Cohasset Ridge Prescribed Burn Association is a community-led group dedicated to bringing neighbors together to safely reintroduce good fire to the landscape. Through shared effort and local leadership, the PBA helps reduce wildfire risk, restore forest health, and build a more fire-adapted comm...