Removing fire-prone non-native trees in the East Bay hills: a Sierra Club perspective

When people see trees being cut, often they call the Sierra Club. The East Bay Regional Park District and the University of California have begun work to remove non-native trees in the East Bay hills, and this article recounts some history and the Club's views of these projects.

Following the devastating 1991 Oakland hills fire, the communities in the Oakland hills and the major land-owning agencies there, principally the East Bay Regional Park District and UC Berkeley, began plans to reduce the fire danger. A key concern was the removal of non-native and highly flammable blue-gum eucalyptus, acacia, and Monterey pine trees. These trees were a major factor in the rapid spread of the 1991 fire.

The Sierra Club and Golden Gate Audubon Society proposed that the Park District develop a comprehensive Resource and Vegetation Management Plan for its lands, and the District ultimately adopted our proposal. The District lacked funding, however, until 2004, when the voters of the west side of the East Bay hills (Oakland through Richmond) passed Measure CC, a maintenance tax for the Park District that included funds for preparing the plan and an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on it. Since the passage of this measure, the District has begun developing a comprehensive plan to reduce fire danger while also protecting and the restoring native habitat and wildlife.

Fortunately, native vegetation is also the most fire-safe. It is important to the Sierra Club that removal of non-native vegetation be accompanied by well-thought-out plans to prevent erosion and to revegetate the area with native plants. Some of this work may look unsightly while it is in progress, but on completion it should lead to healthy restored native habitat.

The Park District has already done some work in the Claremont Canyon Preserve, under a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to remove vegetation while protecting habitat for the Alameda whipsnake. Before this work was begun, the District studied it through an environmental assessment. The Sierra Club, Golden Gate Audubon Society, and the California Native Plant Society reviewed the proposed work and environmental assessment and supported the project.

The Sierra Club sought to bring other agencies, including the cities of Richmond, Berkeley, El Cerrito, and Oakland, to work together with the Park District, but they were unable to agree on a process and payment method. UC Berkeley proceeded with its own plan and EIR. Except for Claremont Canyon, other current work in the hills is being done by UC on its own lands, removing some fire-dangerous trees. Some local homeowners have objected to this work. The Sierra Club has taken no position on these projects, and UC has completed all legal requirements for them, so that any action or position by the Club at this point in time would have little weight.

To join in the Club's efforts to monitor these concerns, contact or call (510) 848-0800

For more information, contact Norman La Force, chair of the East Bay Public Lands Committee, at n.laforce -at- comcast.net or (510) 526-4362 (for general concerns); or Kent Lewandowski, chair of the Northern Alameda County Group, at kentlewan -at- yahoo.com or (510) 625-5831 (about issues in specific cities).

Norman La Force and Kent Lewandowski