Wildland Vegetative Fuel Management Plan
8 Documents in Project
Summary
SCH Number
2019110389
Lead Agency
Regents of the University of California
Document Title
Wildland Vegetative Fuel Management Plan
Document Type
EIR - Draft EIR
Received
Present Land Use
The 800-acre Plan Area is located within the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) Hill Campus subarea designated in the 2020 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) in the hills adjoining and east of the UC Berkeley Campus Park and California Memorial Stadium. Development within the Plan Area includes several campus public and research facilities including the Lawrence Hall of Science, Botanical Garden, Space Sciences Laboratory, Field Station for the Study of Behavior, Ecology and Reproduction and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute. However, the primary use of the Hill Campus is natural open space, including a 300-acre Ecological Study Area, maintained by UC Berkeley for education and research.
The land within the Plan Area is owned by the university and is not subject to local zoning restrictions. The land is zoned for high-density (R-5) residential by the City of Berkeley, residential hillside (RH) by the City of Oakland, and Forestry Recreational (F-R) and General Agriculture (A-2) by Contra Costa County; Alameda County has not assigned a zoning district to this area. The Plan Area is designated as Open Space by the City of Berkeley General Plan, Resource Conservation Area by the City of Oakland General Plan, and Parks and Recreation by the Contra Costa General Plan; Alameda County has not assigned a land use designation to this area.
Document Description
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.
Contact Information
Name
Raphael Breines
Agency Name
The Regents of the University of California
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Berkeley, Oakland
Counties
Alameda
Cross Streets
Centennial Drive, Claremont Avenue, Stadium Rim Way, Grizzly Peak Boulevard
Zip
94720
Total Acres
800
State Highways
SR-24, SR-13
Railways
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Other Location Info
Assessor’s Parcel Numbers: All or portions of the following Assessor’s Parcel Numbers are in the Plan Area: Alameda County: 048H-7750-001-03, 048H-7753-039-01, 048H-7755-029-01, 048H-7800-002-01, 048H-7900-002-04, 048H-7900-002-06, 048H-7900-004-01 and 057 -2042-004-10; Contra Costa County: 265-160-005-4 and 265-160-006-2.
Waterways: Strawberry Creek, Hamilton Gulch Creek, Claremont Creek, Lake Temescal, San Pablo Dam, Derby Creek
Notice of Completion
State Review Period Start
State Review Period End
State Reviewing Agencies
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 Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), 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), 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
Development Types
Other (Vegetation Treatment Project)
Local Actions
Fuel Management Plan
Project Issues
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
Attachments
Environmental Document
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