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A strategic fuelbreak, bisecting
Point Reyes National Seashore, was successfully initiated
during fall 2005 when two adjacent units, totaling 46 acres
of coyote brush mixed with grass, were treated with prescribed
fire along Limantour Road. This was the first treatment in
the 4,182 acre Limantour Fire Management Unit, established
by the park’s new fire management plan. Additional burn
units, and mechanical forest thinning will continue to build
on this project.
Values at risk in the immediate project
vicinity include several employee residences, the Point Reyes
Hostel, the Clem Miller Environmental Education Center, and
the Laguna Creek watershed, which provides critical habitat
for threatened steelhead trout. The area is a busy public
use corridor where vehicles on Limantour Road or campfires
on Limantour Beach create the potential for wildfire. Fuel
reduction along this corridor will make a wildfire easier
to control, and will strengthen Limantour Road as a line of
defense, protecting the communities of Inverness, Bolinas,
and Olema, as well as park headquarters.
The primary objective of the 2005 Limantour
prescribed fire was to reduce coyote brush by 40%, keeping
the shrubs low and widely spaced. An immediate post-burn assessment
determined this objective was achieved, and will be verified
through continued fire effects monitoring. Without treatment,
coyote brush will become tall, dense, and significantly more
difficult to manage during a wildfire. Although the fuel load
was substantially reduced, shrub survival was high. Many shrubs
began resprouting from the base within a month of the prescribed
fire treatment. In addition to hazardous fuels reduction,
maintaining areas of coyote brush in an immature condition
will promote habitat diversity in the coyote brush community.
Interagency cooperation during this project
was highly effective. Firefighters from Marin County Fire
Department, Bolinas Fire Protection District, Inverness Fire
Department, Nicasio Volunteer Fire Department, East Bay Regional
Parks, Skywalker Ranch, Marin Muncipal Water District, and
Golden Gate National Recreation Area assisted Point Reyes
Fire Management with prescribed fire operations.
Finally, this project provided an exceptional
fire education opportunity to 80 students visiting Limantour
Beach, and 2 other groups staying at the Clem Miller Environmental
Education Center.
Contact: Roger P. Wong, Fire
Management Officer
Phone: (415) 464-5243
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