March 15, 2021
President Dee Rosario
General Manager Sabrina Landreth
East Bay Regional Park District
P.O. Box 5381
Oakland, CA 94605
Dear President Rosario and General Manager Landreth,
As you may know, the Claremont Canyon Conservancy is a 500-family membership organization located in the Claremont neighborhood of Oakland and Berkeley. Our mission is the preservation and enhancement of the natural environment and the prevention of catastrophic wildfires. One of the ways we achieve our goals is to keep in close touch with the public agencies owning land in the canyon. We support their work and encourage the resolution of fire hazards and other issues on public lands.
Our concern in writing you today is the condition of the upper eucalyptus woodland in the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve. The woodland is situated behind homes along Stonewall Road in what the District calls polygon CC001. While the lower part of the woodland has been managed for years, the upper part remains untouched and is densely overgrown with a vast accumulation of dead leaves, branches and duff underneath. It is clearly a fire hazard. It also attracts unauthorized campers. While well-hidden from view, it is close to the Stonewall trail and urban services nearby. The dense build-up of vegetation and debris makes it difficult for rangers and public safety officers to access the area.
We recognize that plans for management of hazardous vegetation were included in the 2010 EBRPD Wildfire Hazard Reduction and Resource Management Plan that was funded by the Measure CC parcel tax, which we supported. We also understand that funding for project work for Polygon CC001 is to be derived from both the parcel tax and the FEMA grant approved in 2017.
It is essential that the Park District mitigate the wildfire threat in CC001 due to both hazardous, flammable vegetation and illegal camping. A significant number of people have camped in the upper grove for many years, lighting cooking fires and leaving debris behind. A few of the campers were particularly troublesome this past year, trespassing on a regular basis through residential properties and acting aggressively toward residents.
We urge the District to perform the work required and to mitigate these problems as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Jon Kaufman, President
Marilyn Goldhaber, Vice President
cc: Ronald Berman
Jim Rutledge
