Tomales Bay State Park Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Project

Tomales Bay State Park Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Project

04/08/24 Update:

The Tomales Bay State Park Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Public Works Plan developed by California State Parks is scheduled for Coastal Commission action on Thursday, April 11, 2024. The staff report is available for review on the Commission's agenda, under the Thursday tab, item 10a.

 

03/13/24 Update:

Thank you for your interest in the Tomales Bay State Park Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Public Works Plan (PWP). Due to the need for additional review of the PWP, California State Parks and Coastal Commission staff are postponing the certification of the PWP by the Commission. We understand the desire for the public to speak to the Commission on this critical project to address forest health and wildfire resilience in the coastal zone and will endeavor to bring the PWP back to the Commission’s next meeting in April 2024. Please visit the project website for any updates from State Parks. Thank you again.

 

03/04/2024 Update:

The Tomales Bay State Park Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Public Works Plan developed by California State Parks is scheduled for Coastal Commission action on Friday, April 11, 2024. The staff report is available for review on the Commission's agenda, under the Thursday tab, item 10a.

 

01/12/24 Update:

The presentation given at the 1/10/2024 public hearing for the Draft Tomales Bay State Park Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Public Works Plan is available to view here https://youtu.be/OH8AJEC99hI 

 

12/18/23 Update:

California State Parks (CSP) released on December 18, 2023 a Draft Tomales Bay State Park Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Public Works Plan (PWP) for a six-week period of public review and comment. Please read the Public Notice for more information. The draft Public Works Plan is available below for review.

California State Parks will also host an in-person public hearing on the Draft Public Works Plan (PWP) at Buck Hall, located at the Lodge at Marconi, 18500 CA-1, Marshall, CA, on January 10, 2024, at 6:00 pm. California State Parks will deliver a short presentation at approximately 6:15 pm and then accept oral comments.

Tomales Bay State Park Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience

In November 2022, California State Parks initiated the compliance and permitting process for the Tomales Bay State Park Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Project.  The goals of this effort are to preserve and steward the park’s Bishop pine and mixed hardwood forests, improve resilience of the forested and other habitat areas of the park for ecological benefit and to reduce wildfire risk, and to reestablish tribal priorities for vegetation management in the park.  A virtual community meeting for the project was held on December 14, 2022.  A recording of the meeting can be viewed here: Tomales Bay State Park Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Project – Virtual Community Meeting - YouTube 

A 2019 Tomales Bay State Park Forest Inventory documented the need for this project by recording high levels of tree disease and mortality in declining populations of bishop pine, tan oak and coast live oak.   The report demonstrated that absent some natural or human intervention, there is insufficient natural regeneration to sustain the bishop pine and hardwood forests. This document is available on the Inverness Association website at this link: Microsoft Word - Tomales Bay State Park Forest Inventory101719.docx (squarespace.com)

Additional project documents (draft project description and draft treatment prescriptions) are currently available by request. To request those documents, please e-mail Bree Hardcastle at Bree.Hardcastle@parks.ca.gov or Cyndy Shafer at Cyndy.Shafer@parks.ca.gov.  We are working to remediate these documents to provide increased transparency and meet the digital needs of Californians with disabilities. Thank you for your patience as the California Department of Parks and Recreation continues to work to ensure accessibility of our website content. 

2/23/23 Update:

As part of the planning and compliance process for this project, California State Parks is preparing a combined California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) Project-Specific Analysis (PSA) and Coastal Vegetation Treatment Standards (Coastal VTS) to provide California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California Coastal Act compliance for the proposed Tomales Bay State Park Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Project. A Public Works Plan (PWP) containing the Coastal VTS is also being prepared for certification by the California Coastal Commission. 

The proposed Tomales Bay Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Project information has been posted on the Online Viewer for Proposed Projects Under the CalVTP. Proposed projects are publicly posted as part of the CalVTP Project Specific Analysis process early in the planning process.  For questions about the project planning and compliance process, including opportunities for public input, please e-mail Bree Hardcastle at Bree.Hardcastle@parks.ca.gov or Cyndy Shafer at Cyndy.Shafer@parks.ca.gov.