Allocations of funds for Claremont Canyon are listed in three line items of the Measure CC budget: $418,060 for completion of the trail system; $120,000 for research for Whipsnake habitat enhancement; and for Sibley and Claremont Canyon combined, $1,175,000 for vegetation management and fuels reduction. The precise allocation of these sums has yet to be determined.
Stalking the wild broom, by Tamia Marg
There is something deeply satisfying about pulling that solitary broom bobbing with yellow flowers that would have spawned a zillion broom seedlings if you hadn’t been there to pull it. Not only are you eliminating the prolific parents of future generations but you are opening up space in the continuum of habitat for a more native balance to move in. We are not talking here about the removal of those forests of broom that have become entrenched on hillsides all around the East Bay Hills. Those require armies of people with all sorts of weapons and multiple strategies. This venture is the hunt for the sentinels—those lone riders that venture out into undisturbed territory, quiet invaders bringing devastation to the modest areas of native diversity left near our urban jungles. As these bad guys forge ahead, their progeny will spread into the densest native thickets, skewing the balance of habitat for the local denizens. The only things that stop them are deep shade, wetlands—or weed warriors.
Taking out the eucs, by Marilyn Goldhaber
Over 9,000 eucalyptus trees have been removed from Claremont Canyon since 2001 with thousands more due to come down in the next 2-4 years. Careful monitoring and follow-up of the logged areas this time around should assure that resprouts and new seedlings will not overwhelm the land, force out the native flora and fauna, and present an unacceptable wildfire hazard to the canyon and nearby homes.
Some people undoubtedly will miss the tall trees which have held their place in the canyon for nearly a century. Were they less flammable by nature and less aggressive in their growth, wildland managers might be able to deal with them differently. But such was not the case for Eucalyptus globulus, or blue gum, a species imported from Australia for commercial reasons over a hundred years ago.
Touring the urban-wildland interface with Oakland Deputy Fire Chief James Edwards, by Bill McClung
For about two miles along the southern and western edges of Claremont Canyon, nearly a thousand houses and private properties directly face about a hundred acres of wildlands. The management of these undeveloped lands owned by the Regional Park District, City of Oakland, and private landowners could determine whether firefighters can successfully keep future wildland fires from engulfing whole neighborhoods in minutes.
Working together: Conservancy completes fuel-reduction program with community partners, by Martin Holden
The Conservancy is pleased to announce the completion of the Mid-Canyon and Stonewall Road fuels reduction projects, the final phases of our 2005-2006 fire-safety program in the Claremont Canyon Preserve. The program grew out of a consensus among neighbors, government agencies, and land-holders, who agree that we need to gain some control of the invasive eucalyptus, acacia, and pines that increasingly encroach upon the roads, homes, and wild habitat of the East Bay hills.
Members tell us what they think, by Marilyn Goldhaber
In February of 2006, we mailed surveys to 385 members and former members of the Claremont Canyon Conservancy. One hundred and thirty, or 34%, responded. Most of the respondents (92%) report close contact with Claremont Canyon by hiking in, driving through, or just viewing the landscape, presumably from their homes (over half). A few hearty souls (5%) report hiking the canyon daily and many more (49%) do so once a month or more. About a quarter drive through every day.
Winter mushroom walk, by Martin Holden
In January, noted Bay Area mycologist Robert Mackler led one of his popular fungal forays into the moist oak forests of Garber Park. A past president of the Mycological Society of San Francisco, Bob Mackler has been explaining the mysteries of mushrooms to since the 1970’s. Bounding through the wintery woods in his big boots and mushroom-dyed cap, he resembled a real-life Tom Bombadil. We were only a few paces into the park before we discovered our first fungus— a log festooned with Tukeytails (Trametes versicolor).
Sulfer Shelf, by Martin Holden
Redwoods Replace Eucalyptus in Claremont Canyon, by Joe Engbeck
The Conservancy’s dream of replacing those fire-dangerous eucalyptus trees in upper Claremont Canyon took a step forward recently when volunteers planted some 1,100 redwood seedlings in areas where UC has removed eucalyptus during the last couple of years. The newly planted, year-old seedlings are still so small that they’re hard to spot, but now that the eucs are gone, it is easy to see the 60- and 80-foot-tall redwoods that the Piedmont Rotary Club planted in the upper canyon thirty years ago.
The Chert Wall, by Martin Holden
Tale of the tapping towhee, by Marilyn Goldhaber
At first, I wondered if my husband had a secret admirer. I could hear a tapping at the window of his study, like someone wanting to get in. But when I went to investigate, no one was there. Then again— tap, tap, tap— and I saw him, a chubby, brown bird earnestly pecking and flapping at his own reflection.
Liasons with Claremont Canyon's landowners, by L. Tim Wallace
When we formed our organization two and a half years ago, Claremont Canyon was being overlooked and ignored. Little had been done by the major stakeholders to control the spread of French broom, poison hemlock, yellow starthistle and the other invasive exotics. Damaged eucalyptus trees were re-sprouting. Roadsides were minimally managed and trails on parkland were virtually ignored. All this has changed.
Redwoods of Claremont Canyon, by Joe Engbeck
In December 1972, a prolonged cold snap hit the San Francisco Bay Area killing thousands of eucalyptus trees in upper Claremont Canyon. The eucs were still standing, but they looked terrible–stark and dry and colorless like so much kindling waiting for a spark. With the wildfire of 1970 still painfully fresh in everyone’s memory, UC Chancellor Albert Bowker decided to take bold action. He had all the eucalyptus trees cut down and hauled away. Logging crews used chainsaws, trucks, bulldozers, and other heavy equipment to do the job.
Afterward, the upper canyon looked like a war zone. To minimize erosion, the area was seeded from the air. But it still looked terrible, so the Piedmont Rotary Club came forward with a reforestation plan. They persuaded UC planners to let them plant some 550 Monterey pines and coast redwood seedlings. The actual planting was done on a Sunday morning in April 1975. The seedlings were small, about 12 inches high in one-gallon containers, but most of them survived.
On the other hand, the root systems of the eucalyptus trees were not dead. Soon almost all of the stumps began to sprout, sending up four or five or six new stems to replace those that had been frozen and cut down. As a result, the upper canyon turned back into a forest of fast-growing, fire-hazardous, eucalyptus trees, some of them now 12 to 18 inches in diameter (dbh) and as much as 80 feet tall.
Recently, with support and encouragement from the Conservancy, UC began to cut down the re-sprouted eucalyptus trees in the upper canyon. Mature oaks, laurels, elderberrys and other trees and shrubs are being left alone. Like the pines and redwoods that were planted in 1975 they are now enjoying the sunlight and moisture that were being monopolized by the eucs. So far, about 3,000 eucalyptus stems have been cut down and the program is scheduled to continue.
The Monterey pines, perhaps 100 of them, have reached middle age and look a bit dry; they’re not in their favorite near-ocean environment. On the other hand, more than 200 redwoods have also survived. In fact, most of them are healthy and full of youthful enthusiasm, just beginning to prosper and grow rapidly. Many are 10 to 20 feet tall with main stems that are 10 or 12 inches in diameter. Quite a few are as much as 60 feet tall and growing taller by four to six feet per year. A few have trunks that are over seven feet in circumference (28 or 29 inches dbh).
The Conservancy’s plan is to continue what the Rotary Club started 30 years ago–replacing the old, very dangerous eucalyptus forest with a cool, moist, relatively fire-safe and beautiful forest of redwoods, oaks, laurels, and other native trees and shrubs. The Conservancy has a supply of seeds gleaned from redwoods native to the East Bay Hills that will be used to continue and extend the reforestation program that was started in 1975. It looks to be a lovely and enduring accomplishment that we will all be able to enjoy and be proud of, and proudly leave to future generations.
Fall 2003 in the Canyon
We begin with two assumptions. First, that fire safety and preservation of the environment are everyone’s responsibility, public and private landowner alike. And second, that only through partnership and coordinated effort can we shape these responsibilities into wise and well-planned action. Accordingly, we have formed good working relationships with many agencies and individuals, each of whom holds an important piece of the overall puzzle.
