Butte County Resource Conservation District

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 cider!

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...

03/20/2026

Tomorrow, Friday, March 20th, Butte PBA will conduct its first burn of the spring season on Schott Road in Forest Ranch. We will broadcast burn two acres to protect homes and the evacuation route from wildfire. We select our spring burn units to maximize structure protection while mitigating impacts on nesting birds, deciduous plants, and budding hardwoods using the 'low and slow' method. All burns have required permits and will only be conducted under safe burning conditions.

Thanks for understanding that a little smoke now can prevent a lot of smoke and destruction later.

No need to report smoke, but give us a honk if you see us in action.

03/13/2026

On Wednesday, March 11th, the Butte PBA conducted a pile burn in Yankee Hill. It was a perfect day with beautiful weather. We burned eight piles, cleared roadside vegetation, and trained a new generation of burners.

As you may have heard, the Butte PBA has secured funding. We thank Coalitions & Collaboratives, Butte County Fire Safe Council, the Watershed Research & Training Center, and your donations for carrying us through 2027!

THANK YOU FUNDERS, VOLUNTEERS, SUPPORTERS, DONORS, LANDOWNERS, AND COLLABORATORS!

03/13/2026

Interested in conservation incentive program opportunities?

Join The Nature Conservancy for an in-person workshop hosted by the Migratory Bird Conservation Partnership to learn more!

Come meet program representatives, learn about upcoming opportunities, and get your questions answered. This is a great chance to connect with key partners, including the California Rice Lands Waterbird Foundation, California Waterfowl Association, The Nature Conservancy, and others, and discover conservation practices that offer compensation for your participation.

📍 Sacramento Valley
Thursday, March 19
1–3 PM
Sutter County Ag Commissioner’s Office
142 Garden Hwy A, Yuba City, CA 95991

📍 Delta
Thursday, March 26
1–3 PM
Staten Island House

23319 N. Staten Island Rd, Thornton, CA 95686

👉 RSVP at the link below or email [email protected] to save your spot!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2iYq8ehoKgcmTZgEBIeFFWi86smlKv8Gf7ZCBl6T7S0awuw/viewform

03/06/2026

It was an honor to be able to share about the Butte County Collaborative Group!

03/06/2026

Learning curves! This is the first year we have utilized acoustic recording units (ARUs) to assist with owl surveys. After checking on one of the units, staff realized that squirrels had decided the microphone pads look pretty tasty. This week we are working quickly to repair the units so we can continue to collect data 🦉🐿️

02/26/2026

SMOKE ALERT - NO NEED TO REPORT

The Butte PBA, BCCER, and Resource Conservation District will be conducting a prescribed fire demonstration at Noble Park on Pentz Rd in Paradise on Saturday, February 28th. This Rx fire is permitted with CAL FIRE, Paradise Fire, and BCAQMD. All our burns depend on weather conditions and will only be implemented under safe conditions. PLEASE NO NEED TO REPORT. Thank you for supporting good fire.