Marin county’s lush vegetation and beautifulviews make it a wonderful place to live. However it is in a region that comeswith wildfire as part of its ecology. When living next to the forests, or inthe Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), it is important to be as fire-adapted andfire-resilient as possible. Fire suppression has led to a build-up of deadvegetation (fuel), while invasive, flammable vegetation has increased in thearea, adding to the fuel for potential spread of wildfire. To mitigate thesehazards in a manner that restores forest health and enhances native,fire-resilient plant communities, a comprehensive plan must be developed for afuture multi-year mitigation effort. This proposal would prepare a Request forProposal (RFP) to select contractors that will develop a comprehensive plan foran ecologically sensitive shaded fuel-break around the Central Marin Zonecommunities. The one-year process will inventory existing conditions, identifyproperty owners, plan an interconnected forest health restoration approachwithin the 200' fuel break boundary (200’ from the boundary of structures,where the WUI meets undeveloped lands), conduct community outreach, andundertake the necessary CEQA review to implement the plan. Funding will beallocated in future years to execute the plan. The Greater Ross Valley FireAgencies (MRN, RVY, KNT, CMD), representing the local taxing authority MWPAmembers, propose an MWPA Central Zone core funding allocation to develop thisplan.
