Vegetation Management

We create a yearly plan for reducing the risk of wildfires. This plan includes vegetation management. We focus on using ecologically sound techniques to reduce the amount of natural fuel in the landscape. This could include:

• Thinning out vegetation;
• Removing dead vegetation;
• Using prescribed burns.

A vegetation management plan also includes: 

• Public notification plans;
• Smoke management plans;
• Environmental impact reviews.

Fuel management means reducing the amount of natural fuel (like plants or trees) that can feed a wildfire. To manage fuels in Marin, we can: 

• Make sure there are defensible spaces around buildings and in residential neighborhoods.
• Use fuel-breaks. A fuel-break is a strip of land that runs along a road or ridge. In this area, vegetation is controlled. This can help slow the spread of wildfires.
• Use fire reduction zones. These are broad areas of land where we manage vegetation. 

Track our progress reducing overgrown vegetation through prescribed fire, tree thinning, pruning, chipping, and roadway clearance. These efforts create breaks that change fire behavior, reduce negative ecosystem impacts, and enable fire fighters to protect communities.