The Hunter 2026 Connectivity Project will treat the remaining parcels within the larger scale Hunter Reservoir Fuel Reduction Project, a 206-acre shaded fuelbreak in Avery, CA, designed and constructed to protect wildlife habitat, hundreds of homes, and critical water and power infrastructure. This completed project, funded by CAL FIRE's Wildfire Prevention Program, conducted CEQA on the entire project area before implementation of fuels treatment. Two parcels within the completed project footprint remain untreated due to multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact landowners. Since the closeout of that project, both landowners have responded to inquiries expressing their interest in reducing fuels on their parcels to improve overall effectiveness of landscape-level wildfire prevention efforts. Treating these parcels will improve landscape consistency in fuel loading and help to stop or slow the spread of another wildfire, a need historically deomstrated by the Darby Fire. This project will help to improve connectivity along the Highway 4 Wildfire Defense System, a landscape-scale series of fuelbreaks and forest health projects designed to protect from wildfire, the critical water and power supply to communities along the Hwy 4 corridor.