From The Union Newspaper:
Nevada County staff confirmed that the Tahoe National Forest (TNF) will no longer pursue plans to build their 19,800 square foot office headquarters campus on 9.3 acres of county property located at 15405 Kahele Court, Nevada City.
It is not clear why the 50-year lease agreement fell through. The county would have collected an annual net income of $52,664.04 if the agreement was not rescinded. “The project is no longer the ultimate plan,” Craig Griesbach, Nevada County’s Information and General Services Agency (IGS) Director said. “They will be searching for a new site as their current location on Coyote Street is slated for the new courthouse.” The county’s goal is to keep the TNF headquarters in Nevada County, ultimately in Nevada City, according to Griesbach.
The Union asked officials from the Coyote Street office for comment, who declined and forwarded the request to a United States Forest Service (USFS) spokesperson in Washington D.C.
“...we have not been able to secure funding in order to move forward with construction,” the emailed response forwarded to The Union by TNF PIO Lauren Falkenberry said. “The Tahoe National Forest is currently reviewing other possible alternatives. Our lease for our current building will be terminated in 2028.”
In May of 2024 the Nevada County Board of Supervisors approved the lease for land between the County of Nevada and the U.S Government, through the U.S Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, for the 9.3 acres for the July 1, 2024 term, through June 30, 2074, according to the staff report and resolution. The county’s 9.3 acre parcel located next to the existing County Juvenile Hall facility was described as having an ideal proximity to Highway 49 and the 20 corridor, which is a requirement for any forest service headquarters, according to Justin Drinkwater, Director of Facilities.
The county did a lot of the initial studies of the property including a timber harvest plan, and all biological and environmental studies to make the site developable for the new TNF headquarters, Drinkwater told Supervisors and the public in May 2024. The initial plan for the facility was to combine administrative offices of TNF and Camptonville Yuba River Ranger District, Matthew Jedra, Acting Forest Supervisor told the Supervisors in 2024.
Originally the estimated cost of the project was just over $13 million before COVID. “We essentially have gone up to plus $25 million just for construction,” Jedra said. “We’re pursuing federal funding to be able to get this completed in a two-phase approach,” Jedra said. “Beginning in fiscal year 2026, we are pursuing $15 million and then in fiscal 2027 the additional $14 to $15 million to complete construction.”
The design plans potentially included offices for county employees, as well as a community center that would have been available to the public for community engagements, according to Jedra. The site plan also shows the structure was intended as a visitor center as well.
When the 50-year lease agreement was approved in 2024, the design was at 65 percent complete, according to Jedra, however he was looking at ways to “dial back the cost and size of the facility” based on the number of staff who had the ability to work remotely. Work on the infrastructure was set to begin in 2026 and the vertical construction in 2027, according to Jedra.
Nationwide federal cuts hit close to home
The U.S. Forest Service has laid off roughly 3,400 federal employees across every level of the agency since February. Cuts have reportedly hit close to home as over a dozen individuals working within the Tahoe National Forest have also lost their jobs.
The move is in response to President Donald Trump and his administration’s plan to shrink the U.S. federal government. The cuts represent about 10 percent of the Forest Service workforce, but reportedly exclude firefighters. Officials confirmed that no firefighting crews — including local Hotshot crews — have been impacted, though a part time public information officer has been let go.
A Hotshot, or Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC), is a highly trained group of firefighters who respond to the most dangerous wildland fires. They are considered one of the most elite firefighting teams in the world. In February a response from a USDA spokesperson responding to journalist’s questions read: “... (the) USDA has made the difficult decision to release about 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees from the Forest Service.”
CLICK HERE to see the original article and photos in The Union newspaper.
Nevada County staff confirmed that the Tahoe National Forest (TNF) will no longer pursue plans to build their 19,800 square foot office headquarters campus on 9.3 acres of county property located at 15405 Kahele Court, Nevada City.
It is not clear why the 50-year lease agreement fell through. The county would have collected an annual net income of $52,664.04 if the agreement was not rescinded. “The project is no longer the ultimate plan,” Craig Griesbach, Nevada County’s Information and General Services Agency (IGS) Director said. “They will be searching for a new site as their current location on Coyote Street is slated for the new courthouse.” The county’s goal is to keep the TNF headquarters in Nevada County, ultimately in Nevada City, according to Griesbach.
The Union asked officials from the Coyote Street office for comment, who declined and forwarded the request to a United States Forest Service (USFS) spokesperson in Washington D.C.
“...we have not been able to secure funding in order to move forward with construction,” the emailed response forwarded to The Union by TNF PIO Lauren Falkenberry said. “The Tahoe National Forest is currently reviewing other possible alternatives. Our lease for our current building will be terminated in 2028.”
In May of 2024 the Nevada County Board of Supervisors approved the lease for land between the County of Nevada and the U.S Government, through the U.S Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, for the 9.3 acres for the July 1, 2024 term, through June 30, 2074, according to the staff report and resolution. The county’s 9.3 acre parcel located next to the existing County Juvenile Hall facility was described as having an ideal proximity to Highway 49 and the 20 corridor, which is a requirement for any forest service headquarters, according to Justin Drinkwater, Director of Facilities.
The county did a lot of the initial studies of the property including a timber harvest plan, and all biological and environmental studies to make the site developable for the new TNF headquarters, Drinkwater told Supervisors and the public in May 2024. The initial plan for the facility was to combine administrative offices of TNF and Camptonville Yuba River Ranger District, Matthew Jedra, Acting Forest Supervisor told the Supervisors in 2024.
Originally the estimated cost of the project was just over $13 million before COVID. “We essentially have gone up to plus $25 million just for construction,” Jedra said. “We’re pursuing federal funding to be able to get this completed in a two-phase approach,” Jedra said. “Beginning in fiscal year 2026, we are pursuing $15 million and then in fiscal 2027 the additional $14 to $15 million to complete construction.”
The design plans potentially included offices for county employees, as well as a community center that would have been available to the public for community engagements, according to Jedra. The site plan also shows the structure was intended as a visitor center as well.
When the 50-year lease agreement was approved in 2024, the design was at 65 percent complete, according to Jedra, however he was looking at ways to “dial back the cost and size of the facility” based on the number of staff who had the ability to work remotely. Work on the infrastructure was set to begin in 2026 and the vertical construction in 2027, according to Jedra.
Nationwide federal cuts hit close to home
The U.S. Forest Service has laid off roughly 3,400 federal employees across every level of the agency since February. Cuts have reportedly hit close to home as over a dozen individuals working within the Tahoe National Forest have also lost their jobs.
The move is in response to President Donald Trump and his administration’s plan to shrink the U.S. federal government. The cuts represent about 10 percent of the Forest Service workforce, but reportedly exclude firefighters. Officials confirmed that no firefighting crews — including local Hotshot crews — have been impacted, though a part time public information officer has been let go.
A Hotshot, or Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC), is a highly trained group of firefighters who respond to the most dangerous wildland fires. They are considered one of the most elite firefighting teams in the world. In February a response from a USDA spokesperson responding to journalist’s questions read: “... (the) USDA has made the difficult decision to release about 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees from the Forest Service.”
CLICK HERE to see the original article and photos in The Union newspaper.
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