Claremont Canyon has many landowners, both private and public.
The two major landowners are the University of California who owns the upper 150 acres of our mostly wildland canyon (considered ecological study areas) and the East Bay Regional Park District who owns the lower 208-acres, including a tributary side canyon Gwin Canyon. Both agencies have their hands full with the responsibility of protecting natural values of these lands while assuring a reasonably fire-safe environment.
Other public landowners in Claremont Canyon share in this responsibility, including the City of Oakland who owns the 14-acre John Garber Park at the bottom of the canyon just behind the grounds of the Claremont Hotel and EBMUD who owns two water tanks in Claremont Canyon and several acres of tree-covered ridgelands contiguous to hundreds of additional acres of open space in Contra Costa County in EBMUD’s Siesta Valley watershed. (See the Skyline Gardens Project to learn about restoration work of the California Native Plant Society in the Siesta Valley watershed.)
There are also private landowners in Claremont Canyon, including AT&T and the Pacifica Foundation, both of whom own radio towers on ridgelands on the east side of Grizzly Peak Boulevard, and several hundred private homes, mostly nestled along the southern slope.
All landowners, both public and private, share in the responsibilities of understanding our Mediterranean-style ecosystem in which we live and doing what we can to prepare for the inevitable next wildfire. See our recommendations for “what landowners can do.”
