Wildland Vegetative Fuel Management Plan

Wildland Vegetative Fuel Management Plan

The Wildland Vegetative Fuel Management Plan (WVFMP) is proposed by UC Berkeley to treat vegetation that could become fire fuel within the Plan Area. The WVFMP includes implementation of four vegetation treatment types across the Hill Campus: 1) evacuation support treatments, 2) temporary refuge areas, 3) fuel break treatments, and 4) fire hazard reduction treatments. Five different vegetation treatment activities would be used to implement the four vegetation treatment types: 1) manual treatment, 2) mechanical treatment, 3) prescribed broadcast burning, 4) managed herbivory (livestock grazing), and 5) targeted ground application of herbicides. UC Berkeley would implement vegetation treatment activities on an average of 200 acres per year within the Plan Area. Up to 600 acres of the 800-acre Plan Area would be treated under the WVFMP because 200 acres are inaccessible (i.e., in Hamilton Gulch) or are not expected to carry fire, due to a lack of vegetative fuel. UC Berkeley is also proposing specific vegetation treatment projects, which comprise two fuel break projects, four temporary refuge areas, and three fire hazard reduction projects in the Plan Area. Fuel breaks (FB) are proposed on Claremont Ridge (the East-West FB) and between the Hill Campus and the Hearst Gate to LBNL (the Hearst Gate FB). The temporary refuge areas (TRAs 1 through 4) are proposed adjacent to Claremont Avenue, in two areas along Jordan Fire Trail, and adjacent to Centennial Drive in the Lawrence Hall of Science parking area. The fire hazard reduction (FHR) projects comprise vegetation treatments in Strawberry Canyon (Strawberry FHR Project), Claremont Canyon (Claremont FHR Project), and on areas along Frowning Ridge (Frowning FHR Project). These nine specific projects are collectively referred to as the “Identified Treatment Projects.” The four treatment types and five treatment activities are reviewed for use throughout the Plan Area at a programmatic level, and the nine Identified Treatment Projects are studied at a project level of detail in the EIR. The near-term implementation of the Identified Treatment Projects along with the longer-term implementation of treatment activities studied at a program level, together comprise the proposed “project,” as defined in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15378.

Berkeley, Oakland

Alameda

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Education, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, District 4 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region 2 (RWQCB), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), Department of General Services (DGS), Department of Toxic Substances Control, Office of Historic Preservation, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights

Other (Vegetation Treatment Project)

Fuel Management Plan

Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Drainage/Absorption, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Growth Inducement, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Schools/Universities, Septic System, Sewer Capacity, Solid Waste, Transportation, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian, Wildfire