The Conservancy has been leading an effort to build a regional wildfire prevention coordinating group among elected officials from local jurisdictions in the East Bay Hills. Read more about these efforts and about our stewardship program which includes volunteers from UC, scout troops, and high school students from as far away as Fremont.
January Happenings 2024
November Happenings 2023
Annual Meeting Invitation: November 12, 2023
Preventing Wildfire: Support the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan, by David Kessler
The City of Oakland has been working for several years on a comprehensive Vegetation Management Plan. The revised version, a detailed study of almost 600 pages, will be formally presented at the Planning Commission on November 1st (Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, at 3PM ). If approved, it moves to the City Council. A working group would then be set up to address such crucial questions as how to secure funding to implement its recommendations.
October Happenings 2023
Save the Date—Annual Meeting Sunday, November 12 from 4-6 p.m. at the Claremont Resort and Spa
July Happenings 2023 - Advocacy Update
Conservancy issues statement regarding appellate court ruling on UC Plan
2022 Opinion Survey, by Jon Kaufman
Wrap up of Annual Meeting, Sunday, November 13, 2022, 4-6 PM, by Jon Kaufman
Making the East Bay Hills Safer from Wildfire, by Jon Kaufman
We need a regional approach to effectively prevent future wildfires. Since wildfires do not stop at city or county lines, the cities and the two counties in the East Bay Hills must work together to remove hazardous vegetation and take other steps to prevent a future disaster like the 1991 firestorm. Local fire departments work together to fight fires, when necessary, under mutual aid agreements. We need a similar approach to prevent wildfires.
Founding Sponsor List
Please let us know if you think you were listed erroneously or were omitted accidentally from this list.
President's spring message, by Jon Kaufman
Over the past year, we’ve had to curtail our group stewardship activities, but our board has been busy on other fronts. Recently, we met with the general manager of the Claremont Resort and Spa and were assured a spacious conference room for our annual meeting in November, if all goes well. While our Zoom meeting last fall was a success, we look forward to seeing everyone in person. In addition, the hotel, along with PG&E, plans to continue to manage hazardous trees on the back of its property for fire safety and better egress
UC's Evacuation Support Project, by Marilyn Goldhaber
Claremont Avenue above Alvarado Road was transformed this past winter as part of an ongoing fire management program carried out by UC’s Facilities Services. Eucalyptus and other trees that could fall across the road during an emergency or ignite close to the road were logged along with brushy understory, within 100 feet of edge of the pavement . The total project area was approximately 18 acres.
Petition filed against UC's Vegetative Fuel Management Plan and EIR
Despite urgings from us, and others, UC failed to make last minute amendments its Plan and EIR to reduce the risk of wildfire on its Hill Campus beyond versions of released in July, 2020 (the Plan) and January 2021 (the EIR). In response, the Conservancy has filed a petition with the Superior Court as we believe both the Plan and EIR, in their present forms, violate state law.
We would like nothing better than to work cooperatively with UC to make its vegetation management plan robust enough to counteract the increased wildfire risk imposed by climate change and increased fuel loads in the upper campus area.
California needs dedicated wildfire prevention funds, as per the Mercury News
California needs a long-term, dedicated source of revenue for wildfire prevention.
It’s inconceivable that the Legislature failed to take action in 2020 to address one of the state’s most pressing issues. Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers must not let another year pass by without making a serious investment in wildfire prevention.
Wrap up of Annual Meeting, Sunday, November 15, 2020, 4-6 PM, by Marilyn Goldhaber
Great attendance in spite of the virus
We had a great turnout for our first online Annual Meeting (full recording is here), with an estimated 70-80 attendees (57 screens!). After a brief update from the Conservancy board, we moved on to our invited speakers, Carl Pennypacker of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, head of the FUEGO (Fire Urgency Estimator in Geosynchronous Orbit) Project and Nick Luby, Deputy Chief of the Fire Operations Bureau, Oakland Fire. The speakers were followed by a question and answer period.
Grizzly Peak lookouts, by Elizabeth Stage
Claremont Avenue and UC Fire Trails will be closed 9 am- 3 pm, weekdays between November 17 —January 15 for Claremont Canyon Evacuation Improvement Project, UCB Facilities Services
The project is comprised of fire fuel mitigation work along upper Claremont Ave. on lands owned University of California, Berkeley (UCB). Project activities will take place within UCB Property 100 feet of the edge of pavement along Claremont Ave. The location of work is indicated on the map below, labelled as EST-3. Total project area is approximately 18 acres.
