Tree Work on Wildcat Canyon Road in Tilden Park Will Improve Safety

An East Bay Regional Park District project to improve public safety along Wildcat Canyon Road in Tilden Park will reduce hazardous wildland fuels and remove high risk trees.

Set to begin in December, 2013, this first phase of the fire hazard reduction is expected to be completed in the spring of 2014. Work hours are generally Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.  Motorists will be notified about delays or closures with signs. The project is funded by Measure CC and Park District general funds for up to $378,000.

“Our goal is to improve public safety in the Regional Parks,” said Park District Fuels Management Fire Captain Brad Gallup. “We will be thinning eucalyptus, brush, and accumulated surface fuels to reduce the wildland fire hazard.”

This project is one of a series in the park district’s Wildfire Hazard Reduction and Resource Management Plan, adopted by the District’s Board of Directors in 2010. Two key management goals in the plan are to reduce fire hazards on District-owned lands and to maintain and enhance ecological values consistent with the fire hazard reduction goals.

The Park District annually budgets for removal of trees in areas that may be a safety risk, and risk tree removal along Wildcat Canyon Drive is included in this project.

For more information, call the Fuels Reduction Information Line, (510) 690-6612 or visit www.ebparks.org/about/stewardship/fuelsplan.