East Bay Regional Park District Defensible Space Project

East Bay Regional Park District has approved the implementation of vegetation treatments for reduction of fire fuel and wildfire risk by establishing defensible space or fuel breaks surrounding structures within East Bay Regional Park District lands and adjacent neighboring residences abutting Park District lands. The project would implement treatments in defensible space areas to comply with local and State ordinances designed to mitigate the risks of wildland fire, particularly locations classified as high and very high fire hazard severity zones by the Office of the State Fire Marshall. Project activities could include manual thinning of understory and trees, chipping of material, mechanical thinning of shrubs and trees, pruning of tree branches, removal of ladder fuels, mowing, grazing, and selective herbicide application to manage invasive species and resprouting vegetation. Dead, dying, and diseased trees could also be removed, particularly if they pose a hazard to structures or increase the risk of crown fire and active fire behavior. Non-native and fire-prone tree species would be targeted for removal where the trees present a fire hazard to structures. The project area would consist of East Bay Regional Park District property (see attached figure) in areas that qualify for the California Environmental Quality Act exemption under Public Resource Code Sections 21080.49(c) or 21080.49 (d) which specify that vegetation would only be removed within 200 feet of structures. Desired post treatment conditions would be a well-spaced healthy native forest and plant community strategically managed to reduce wildfire risk by hindering fire from reaching tree crowns, slowing the rate of spread of fire, and minimizing flame length.