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Winter 2012 

PARKS & PARTNERS

Critical corridors: Improving Emergency Access and Egress 

 

Bishop pine thinning will be in progress during the month of February at Point Reyes National Seashore on both sides of Limantour Road between the Bayview Trail and Sky Trail parking lots.  

This project is an extension of the Inverness Ridge Fuel Break which is designed to improve emergency access and egress during a wildfire. This fuel break includes the Bayview Fire Road which is a critical evacuation route for hundreds of residents on Inverness Ridge. Fuel reduction along this corridor will also enhance its use as a control line in fire suppression operations.

BANNER PHOTO:  Conservation Corps North Bay Crew at work thinning the dense bishop pine which regenerated after the 1995 Vision Fire.   

 

downtown bolinas
bpud project
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.   

jan29 workday

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.  

 

To get involved with restoration at the Tam Fire Site,  contact the Habitat Restoration Team at 415-331-0732.

 

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.   

 

Bay Area Headlines

 

Novato firefighters investigate dozens of arson fires 

(KGO, January 9) 

  

Christmas crackdown on fireplaces yields 400 complaints; New Year's may be next 

(Marin IJ, Dec 28 )

 

Rural residents protest new fire protection fee 

(SF Chronicle, Dec 23 ) 

 

Grass is burned to study Indian culture 

(SF Chronicle, Dec 12 )     

 

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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N E W   Y E A R ' S   S A F E T Y   R E S O L U T I O N S

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How are your evacuation routes? Do they have good clearance and pull outs? If your primary route is blocked, is there another way out? It's never too early to get ready...and never too late for new year's resolutions!     

 

Sincerely,

 

Jennifer Chapman
Fire Communication and Education Specialist

S.F. Bay Area National Parks

415-464-5133

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Thanks to all the partners who help the parks improve fire safety and restore ecosystem health.