The Conservancy continues to follow vegetation management work by the major landowners in Claremont Canyon as the threat of wildfire continues. This work is even more important now since the pandemic has strapped the financial resources of public agencies and potentially weakened their ability to both prevent and fight future wildfires. The University has begun developing a plan to manage vegetation on its upper, less developed campus. This affects those of us who live in and below the Canyon. At an earlier public meeting the University announced that its plan would be released for public comment before the Environmental Impact Report on it was prepared. We have now learned that the plan and the draft EIR will be made public together later this summer with public comment to follow. While this may appear to make the process more efficient, it runs the risk of making it harder for the University and the community to reach agreement on what vegetation management the eventual project will include. The Conservancy fears that the plan and the project will not be adequate and that significant fire-prone vegetation will not be removed from the hills on UC land. We are following this matter closely and will be prepared to step in as appropriate. Forestry Professor Emeritus Joe McBride prepared a proposal for wildfire mitigation last year which we believe offers the University the best way to prevent wildfire in both Strawberry and Claremont Canyons and we again urge the University to adopt it.
