East Bay Hills Wildfire Hazard Reduction And Resource Management Plan and EIR

Project Goals
Specific Objectives
Work Program/Schedule
Background Report
Movie - 2008 Fuels Management Video

Project Goals

Reduce fire hazard on publicly-owned lands in the East Bay's wildland-urban interface to an acceptable level of risk
Maintain and enhance ecological values for plant and wildlife habitat
Preserve aesthetic landscape values for park users and neighboring communities
Provide a vegetation management plan which is cost-effective to the District on an ongoing basis

Specific Objectives

Evaluate the location and adequacy of the District's fuel break
Provide a menu of options for fuels management and habitat restoration and maintenance. Options will address different:
1. topographic situations
2. vegetation types
3. available tools and techniques
  - Vegetation management tools may include
    1. hand removal
    2. mechanical control
    3. herbicide application
    4. prescribed fire
    5. grazing
Evaluate the environmental effects of vegetation management options
Minimize their effects on species of concern
Maintain optimal habitat and ecological function
Provide a plan that enables the District to make informed, adaptive decisions about ongoing vegetation management based on:
- overall benefit
- environmental effects
- cost
Involve diverse stakeholder groups, including agencies and organizations adjoining District lands. The environmental document will solicit broad public input to identify values and concerns related to vegetation management alternatives.

Work Program/Schedule

Task	Time Period	Task Description
A	May-June 2006	Project Initiation Public/Stakeholders Meetings: Project Background, Goals and Issues Identification Meeting #1 Meeting #2
B	June-December 2007	Inventory Resources and Programs and Conduct Wildfire Hazard Assessment Public/Stakeholders Meeting #2: Review of Preliminary Fire and Resource Data; Priority Treatment Areas Invitation to June 6, 2007, meeting (40 Kb Word doc, 1 page) Agenda to June 6, 2007, meeting (21 Kb Word doc, 1 page) May-June 2007 Meeting Overview PowerPoint presentation (1.7 Mb, PDF, 40 pages, 11 x 8.5 inches) Wildfire Hazard Assessment PowerPoint presentation (2.2 Mb, PDF, 28 pages, 11 x 8.5 inches) Summary 6/6/07 Meeting (58 Kb, PDF, 1 page, 11 x 8.5 inches)
C	December 2007- March 2008	Prepare Draft Wildfire Hazard Reduction and Resource Management Plan Public/Stakeholders Meeting #3: Overview of Resource Data: Compatibility and Conflicts Invitation to December 12, 2007, meeting (76 Kb PDF, 1 page) Agenda to December 12, 2007 meeting (52 Kb PDF, 1 page) Summary 12/12/07 meeting (124 Kb PDF, 4 pages) Draft Potential Treatment Area (728 Kb PDF, 1 page Draft Wildfire Hazard Assessment (724 Kb PDF, 1 page) Public/Stakeholders Meeting #4: CEQA Scoping Meeting: Preliminary Treatment Invitation to May 7, 2008, Meeting & Notice of Preparation of Draft Environmental Impact Report Figure 1 Project Study Area Initial Study Environmental Checklist Preliminary Agenda to May 7, 2008 meeting Summary 5/7/2008 meeting PowerPoint Presentation 5/7/2008 Meeting Recommendations; Resource Impacts and Mitigations
D	March-July 2008	Prepare Draft EIR/EA Public/Stakeholders Meeting #5: Review and Comment on Draft Plan and Draft EIR/EA
E	July-October 2008	Prepare EIR/EA Response to Comments Document
F	October-November 2008	Prepare Draft Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
G	November-January 2009	Prepare Final Wildfire Hazard Reduction and Resource Management Plan and EIR/EA
H	January 2009	EIR/EA Certification and Plan Adoption Executive Committee Meeting and Board Public Hearing

Background Report

See also Background Report: The East Bay Hills Wildfire Problem Statement (Prepared in 2001 by the Hills Wildfire Working Group) [ View HTML | Download PDF | Download Word ]

Movie - 2008 Fuels Management Video

Learn more about how the East Bay Regional Park District Fire Services Department works to reduce the potential for dangerous wildfires in the Regional Parks in this short video. The Park District’s Fire Department is currently using a variety of methods to reduce hazardous wildland fuels, maintain fuel breaks in the East Bay Hills, and control invasive weeds. These methods include utilizing tree and brush removal contractors, goat grazing, prescribed fire, and hand crew labor.