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Operational Changes Took Effect on May 1
The Lighthouse Visitor Center is now only open Fridays through Mondays. The Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center will be closed through late December 2013. More »
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2013 Harbor Seal Pupping Season Closures
From March 1 through June 30, the park implements closures of certain Tomales Bay beaches and Drakes Estero to water-based recreation to protect harbor seals during the pupping season. Please avoid disturbing seals to ensure a successful pupping season. More »
Fuels Management
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Fuels manangement is the manipulation of vegetation to reduce hazardous fuel and restore ecosystem health. Current fuels management is done in accordance with the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. The Strategy evolved from the National Fire Plan, which was initiated in 2001 and accelerated fuels management programs on all federal wildlands. Fuels management involves many different kinds of treatment and many techniques may be used within a single large fuelbreak. There are four major fuelbreaks at Point Reyes National Seashore: Highway One, Bolinas Ridge, Limantour Road, and Bayview Fire Road which are ongoing, multi-year, multi-unit management areas. There are two main cateogories of treatment: prescribed fire and mechanical treatment.
Prescribed Fire at Drakes Beach NPS Photo Prescribed Fire
Thinning eucalyptus along Highway 1 NPS Photo Cutting vegetation with chainsaws, mowers, weed wackers, and pruning shears are common fuel reduction techniques. Chippers are used to reduce the size of the larger debris so it can be used as much or hauled to a composting station. |
Did You Know?
The rich, lush environment of Point Reyes heavily depends on the fog. During rainless summers, fog can account for 1/3 of the ecosystem's water input. But recent studies have indicated that there has been about a 30 percent reduction in fog during the last 100 years here in coastal California. More...