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Press Release: FEMA funding for Hills tree removal is cancelled
[Editor's note: Based on statements on the Hill Conservation Network website yesterday, it appears that plans for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund extensive tree removal in the East Bay hills has been cancelled per a settlement of an ongoing legal challenge to the project. The Hills conservation network issued this press release:]
FEMA case is settled!
We are pleased to announce that FEMA and the Department of Justice have signed off the settlement agreement between HCN and FEMA to resolve the HCN lawsuit challenging the adequacy of the FEMA EIS for vegetation management projects in the east bay hills.HCN is pleased with this agreement in that it rescinds funding for the portions of the project targeted at removing large trees but maintains funding for essential brush clearing work. In practical terms the effect of this agreement is to rescind funding to UC and the City of Oakland while maintaining funding for EBRPD.
This has been a very long and hard fight, a fight that could have been avoided had UC been willing to adopt accepted wildland fire risk mitigation methodologies rather than insisting on removing 3 species of tall trees. The City of Oakland is an unfortunate casualty in this conflict largely because what began as a well intentioned public safety initiative was hijacked by the same faction that has made reasonable dialog and compromise impossible.
With this agreement in place HCN will move to abandon the lawsuit and will reach out to the various agencies involved to attempt to develop a consensus approach to managing wildfire risk while preserving this incredibly beautiful environment we call home.
Once again, we want to thank all of you who have played an role in making this happen, whether it be in the form of monetary contributions, protests, attending meetings, talking to others, or just spreading the word. From the beginning it was clear that the vast majority of this community valued these beautiful forests and didn’t want to see them destroyed in the name of wildfire risk mitigation. What became evident as the lawsuit progressed was there was precious little evidence to justify attempts to destroy whole forests to reduce fire risk. In fact there was a great deal of evidence that destroying these forests would if anything significantly increase the danger to local residents.
In the end science won out and FEMA/DOJ did the right thing.
Having said this, we are still engaged in a legal conflict with UC Berkeley over their attempt to use their 2020 Long Range Facilities Development Plan as evidence of CEQA compliance. HCN filed suit on this matter several months ago asserting that this was not acceptable and that UC must prepare an EIR for their proposed vegetation management projects. With the FEMA news hot off the press it’s not entirely clear what UC’s plans are, but HCN is going to move forward with the legal steps to ensure that irrespective of funding source UC is not allowed to move forward on any large scale tree removal projects without truly complying with CEQA. Your ongoing support for this fight is still needed.
Thanks again to all who have worked so hard for this outcome.
Hills Conservation Network
[The HCN site also reprinted this notice from UC Berkeley's vegetation management program:]
Hill Campus Fire Hazard Reduction Program - Indefinite Delay
September 9, 2016The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has terminated grants awarded to UC Berkeley in January 2016 that were to fund fire hazard mitigation projects in the area known as the Hill Campus. Copies of the letters communicating the termination are available through the links below. The campus was not consulted regarding the decision to terminate the grants and has no information regarding why the grants were terminated by FEMA other than what is stated in the letters.
FEMA has stated that as a result of its termination of the grants, no federal action is associated with the fire hazard mitigation projects and therefore the Incidental Take Statement issued by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) no longer covers the activities that were to be carried out pursuant to the terminated grants. If USFWS formally concurs with FEMA’s position, then the USFWS may not issue a new permit enabling the University’s fire hazard mitigation work for months or years. The campus is presently evaluating how to address compliance with USFWS jurisdictional requirements in light of FEMA’s decision to terminate the grants. The UC Berkeley’s Hill Campus Fire Hazard Reduction Program work will be delayed for an indefinite period while the regulatory issues arising from termination of the grants are resolved.
The grants were awarded after approximately eight years of consideration and review by FEMA, including FEMA’s preparation of an extensive Environmental Impact Statement. The campus was preparing to begin work in Claremont Canyon in mid-September; the contractor bidding process was completed in August 2016, and contracts were expected to be finalized by September 16.
The campus’s annual program to create and maintain limited defensible space by reducing wildfire fuels in the Hill Campus is not subject to the grants terminated by FEMA and this year's work is scheduled to continue through September 2016.
Further updates to the UC Hill Campus Fire Hazard Reduction Program work plan will be posted on this webpage.
Letters of notification:
