The Claremont Canyon Conservancy lost a treasure. Our board member Jerry Kent, a former assistant general manager of the East Bay Regional Park District, died unexpectedly on July 14, 2026 at the age of 88. Many of us knew Jerry as the person who could tell you what the East Bay Hills looked like 25, 35, and 100 years ago, why the landscape burned the way it did, and what we ought to do about it.
What made Jerry special was not only what he knew but how generously he shared it. Anyone who asked a question got an answer, often with a good story attached.
Jerry Kent at the Trudeau Center in 2026.
Jerry joined the Park District in 1962 as a groundsman, with a degree in park management. By the following year he was foreman at Tilden. Over his 41-year career he became assistant general manager for operations and served twice as acting general manager, guiding the District through Proposition 13, labor disputes, and the 1991 firestorm that so many of our members remember all too well.
After Jerry’s retirement in 2003 he simply kept working, remaining in touch with colleagues and reaching out to local groups who cared about the environment. When invited to join our board in 2008, he accepted, intrigued to discover what the people wanted and how he could help.
Once on our board, Jerry set out to visit every hilltop and downslope of Claremont Canyon. Even after many years in the East Bay, Jerry said he never realized how steep the slopes of our canyon were. In 2010, Jerry and fellow board member Joe Engbeck crafted a plan of what the large land- owners needed to do to manage veg- etation, create safe evacuation routes, and stage areas for firefighting.
Jerry was the first person to realize that all five significant 20th century wildfires in the Oakland/Berkeley hills came through or started in the upper reaches of Claremont Canyon—yes, including the 1923 fire we associate entirely with Tilden and the City of Berkeley. Jerry explained that in 1923 there was little develop- ment in Claremont Canyon other than a few scattered dairy farms and cattle ranches. “Those people knew how to take care of themselves and not make a fuss,” he said.
During his productive retirement, Jerry wrote histories of the Park District, campaigned for park bonds, and participated in committees and meetings of organizations such as the Sierra Club, the Native Plant Society, and the Regional Parks Foundation, as well as the Claremont Canyon Conservancy. As recently as August 2025, Jerry gave an illus- trated talk at the Berkeley City Club on the history of Claremont Canyon and the Conservancy’s work. Our president, Jon Kaufman, said that no one knew better how vegetation, topography, weather, development, and climate together affect those of us who live in the East Bay Hills. Many of Jerry’s photo essays on wilfire and how the East Bay Hills vegetation changed over the years are on our website and worth viewing.
Perhaps Jerry’s most lasting gift was creating the Park District Archives. His steady persistence led the District to create a permanent program growing out of years of volunteer efforts. We heard all about that program from Brenda Montano at our annual meeting on November 8, 2026 . We continue to move forward with initiatives in Claremont Canyon and Jerry’s research and good sense go with us. We miss him dearly.
