General Manager Robert Doyle began his park career over 40 years ago as a member of the East Bay Regional Park District’s eucalyptus crews, following the big freeze of 1972. He went on to serve in several field, planning, and administrative positions before becoming Assistant General Manager for Land Acquisition and Planning in 1990. For the next 21 years he led the District’s expansion of parklands to serve the rapidly growing populations of Alameda and Contra Costa counties. In 2010, he was appointed General Manager by the Park District’s seven-member, elected Board of Directors to oversee 70 regional parks totaling 124,000 acres, 1,200 miles of interconnecting trails, and a staff of 1,000 employees.
Since 1936, the Park District has been a major owner of land in the East Bay Hills and has long been concerned about wildfire risks to both parklands and adjacent residential areas. The District has its own uniquely dedicated and versatile Fire Department, which cooperates and coordinates with state and local fire fighting agencies. Its mission is to prevent and suppress fires in the wildland-urban interface and remote wilderness areas through vegetation and strategic property management, and to rapidly respond to fire emergencies. The department is currently staffed to operate out of 10 fire stations.
Robert Doyle is this year’s chair of the Hills Emergency Forum, a consortium of Easy Bay fire fighting agencies, and is personally involved in gearing up to implement the District’s 2010 Fire Hazard Mitigation Plan and the District’s portion of the 2016 FEMA East Bay Hills Hazardous Fires Risk Reduction program. With litigation finally resolved, the Park District can obtain the required mitigation permits from the State Department of Fish and Wildlife necessary to proceed with several million dollars of District-funded projects and $5.6 million in FEMA grant funds for critical work in Tilden, Claremont Canyon, Sibley and other regional parks —reducing fire risks for nearby residents, including those in Claremont Canyon.
We are honored to have Mr. Doyle present alongside Chief Pimlott on November 12.
