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Wildfire – It’s Only a Matter of Time Reducing fire hazards on Mt. Tamalpais is a centerpiece of the Vegetation Management Plan. Since record keeping began in 1859, major fires have raged through Marin County periodically. An 1882 fire burned an estimated 65,000 acres. A 1923 fire swept south over 40,000 acres from Novato to Alpine Lake. In 1945 the last major fire on the mountain consumed vegetation on approximately 20,000 acres of watershed land. Fuels have been accumulating since then. Some areas of chaparral and evergreen forest haven't burned in almost 80 years. Hazardous fuel conditions, combined with the steep slopes, dense housing, narrow, windy streets and the extreme fire weather conditions that occur every year, provide all the ingredients for a catastrophe similar to the Oakland Hills conflagration in 1991. We are trying to create a strong defense against wildfires by building a network of fuel breaks to help fire fighters contain wildfires. We create them by thinning heavy vegetation along fire-protection roads in strategic ridge top areas near Marin’s neighborhoods to provide access for fire fighters and create a zone where they have a better chance of containing fires. We also conduct carefully managed burns on up to 200 acres per year. These prescribed fires serve to reduce fuels, maintain natural habitats and control non-native plants. Left unchecked, invasive plants create a heavy fuel load and reducing biodiversity on Mt. Tamalpais by pushing out native species. We work in cooperation with local fire departments to plan prescribed burn projects, manage vegetation and conduct the burns safely. Protecting Our Biological Legacy
A complete copy of the plan can be downloaded for viewing or printing by clicking on the*.pdf files below. Please double check the file sizes to be sure they are compatible with your machine and internet connection. Introduction and Summary (inc. Cover Page, Table of Contents) - 1.3MB Management to Reduce Fire Hazard - 14.0MB Management to Maintain Biodiversity - 9.8MB Other Management Actions, Implementation and Monitoring - 10.1MB Recommendations off the Study Area - 10.9MB Bibliography, Resolution and Mitigation Summary - 9.2MB For more information on the Vegetation Management Plan, or if you would like to review a hard copy of it or its appendices, please contact our Natural Resource Specialist, Mike Swezy, at the Sky Oaks Watershed headquarters building in Fairfax.
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To maintain the ecological health of the watershed, the Vegetation Management Plan also calls for: 1) controlling the spread of invasive pest plants, which displace native plants and eliminate habitat for native animals; 2) restoration of meadow and oak woodlands, plant communities that most vulnerable to ecological changes; and 3) the protection of rare plant species, many endemic to Mt. Tamalpais.
