COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT: Protecting Bolinas / Tree Thinning Along Mesa Road
Bolinas, a community of approximately 1,200 residents recently completed a 9-acre thinning project on public utility district (BPUD) lands at the south end of Mesa Road near the Olema-Bolinas Road intersection. Fuel reduction in this dense eucalyptus grove has been a priority of the Bolinas Fire Protection District (BFPD) for years, but costs were prohibitive. Then, with several successful grants written by Conservation Corps North Bay (CCNB) and supplemental funding from BPUD and BFPD, the project took off.
This was a critical project because of the potential for this eucalyptus grove to cast embers directly into down town during a wildfire driven by an east, offshore wind.
Falling or flaming trees at this location would also block a critical passageway for the main residential area, firefighters and emergency medical responders which are located farther out Mesa Road to the north.
The next step is to clear around the powerlines at the edge of the grove along Mesa Road which are easily snapped by falling limbs, creating hazardous wires, which traffic must be kept away from.
For more info, see also story in CCNB's newsletter...
PHOTOS: 1) - Looking east from downtown Bolinas where a wind- driven would most likely be coming from. Extreme fire weather typically occurs on a few days each year in September and October.
2) - CCNB Natural Resource Manager Max Korten and NPS Fuels Management Specialist, Jordan Reeser tour the Mesa Road Project and discuss challenges associated with eucalyptus fuel removal projects. |
PARK RESOURCE HIGHLIGHT: Ongoing Restoration at Tam Fire Site in Tamalpais Valley Over 1,200 native plants have recently been planted at the Tam Fire Site by Habitat Restoration Team volunteers during workdays on December 3, 2011 and January 29, 2012. Usually, the winter rainy season means no irrigation is needed, but this year has been drier, so the site was watered a few weeks after the first workday. On the second workday, the group planted in the southeast corner of the site where a group of eucalyptus saplings had just been removed. Without reintroduction of native plants, the Tam Fire Site will once again become a dense eucalyptus grove, given the abundant seedbank left from the trees that burned in the fire. The eucalyptus saplings were replaced with yarrow, coyote bush, California brome, blue wild rye, cow parsnip, honeysuckle and bush lupine. Tree protection tubes were also added to some of the oaks and bay trees planted in previous years because they were outgrowing their original tubes making them susceptible to browsing by deer. The group also pulled lots of broom and thistle seedlings from the areas that already replanted to keep weeds from overtaking the native plants until they are fully established. ABOVE: Habitat Restoration Team at the January 29 work day. Volunteers have been planting at this site every winter since a wildfire burned in May 2004. |
Upcoming Events
FEBRUARY 5 - GERBODE VALLEY RESTORATION - Marin Headlands, GGNRA - This was the site of a prescribed burn in September 2011, and volunteeers are now needed to plant these 8 acres! The tall fescue-infested valley floor is being returned to coastal swale and wildlife habitat. More info...
FEBRUARY 12 - GERBODE VALLEY RESTORATION - Marin Headlands, GGNRA - Volunteers will continue mulching and planting thousands of natives to restore this beautiful valley. More info...
MARCH 25-29 - WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE CONFERENCE - Reno, NV - Presentations will discuss problems and solutions related to the suppression, mitigation and education of challenges in the wildland-urban interface. More info...
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