Tonight: Herbicide Use to Be Considered by City of Oakland

Herbicide use being considered

OAKLAND -- The Wildlife Prevention Assessment District and Oakland Councilwoman Jean Quan are sponsoring a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the possibility of using herbicides to help prevent wildfires in the Oakland hills.

Oakland currently prohibits herbicide use under its Integrated Pest Management Policy, according to Quan. The district is proposing selective use of the poisons to create fire-breaks in the same areas devastated by a 1991 firestorm.

The Jan. 26 meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Oakland City Hall.

DRAFT

OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL

RESOLUTION N0.______________C.M.S.

INTRODUCED BY COUNCILMEMBER ____Jean Quan__________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________



RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A LIMITED EXEMPTION TO THE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT POLICY TO USE HERBICIDES ON CITY OWNED LAND IN THE WILDFIRE PREVENTION DISTRICT AND OTHER CITY PROPERTIES IDENTIFIYED BY THE FIRE MARSHALL AS A HIGH FIRE HAZARD


WHEREAS, in 1997 the Oakland City Council approved the implementation of a comprehensive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) policy and passed Resolution No. 73968 C.M.S., that prohibits the use of pesticides on City property except as specifically exempted; and

WHEREAS, the Oakland Fire Department is responsible for reducing wild land fuels through vegetation management in Oakland’s Wildfire Prevention District; and

WHEREAS, Oakland’s Wildfire Prevention District is comprised of City owned public open space such as Joaquin Miller Park, Knowland Park, King Estates Park, Dimond Canyon, Dimond Park, rugged canyons, public pathways, fuel breaks, roadsides, medians and steep hillsides; and

WHEREAS, there are areas in Oakland outside the Wildfire Prevention District comparable in topography and vegetation to the established Wildfire Prevention District; and

WHEREAS, the proliferation of non-native trees and shrubs such as blue gum eucalyptus, acacia, broom, and pampas grass creates a continuous fuel bed and fire hazard throughout the City’s high fire hazard urban/wild land interface; and

WHEREAS, invasive, non-native trees and shrubs have few natural enemies, propagate readily in Oakland’s climate and are resistant to eradication or control without the assistance of herbicides; and

WHEREAS, the offending trees and shrubs sprout profusely after hand or mechanical clearing and require cutting several times per year to fully abate growth; and

WHEREAS, the uncontrolled growth of non-native, invasive trees and shrubs constitutes a greater risk to native plant communities and wildlife habitat than does the use of selected herbicides as a component of a strategic vegetation management plan; and

WHEREAS, pulling or mechanically removing weeds is ecologically damaging, as it disturbs soil and creates an inviting seedbed for weeds. Herbicides leave soil intact and undisturbed, making it easier for native plants to survive as well as preventing erosion; and

WHEREAS, the Oakland City Council seeks to improve fire prevention and reduce wild land fuels within the City of Oakland in a cost effective and environmentally sensitive way; now therefore be it

RESOLVED: That the Oakland City Council hereby grants a limited exemption to the Integrated Pest Management policy by allowing the selective use of glyphosate (in formulations such as Round-up or Rodeo) and triclopyr (in formulations such as Garlon and Pathfinder) on City owned land in the Wildfire Prevention District; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED: That whenever said herbicides are used, they shall only be painted or applied directly on the stumps and shall only be used as a tool of last resort to control the following plant and tree species:

• all species of Eucalyptus (E. globulus (blue gum), red gum, and others)
• all species of Acacia (black acacia and silver wattle)
• all non-native species of Prunus (plum and cherry)
• all species of Ulmus (elm)
• Ilex aquifolium (Holly)
• Maytenus boaria (Mayten)
• all species of Cotoneaster (C. franchetii, C. lacteus, C. pannosa)
• all species of broom and gorse: Cytisus scoparius (Scotch broom), Genista monspessulana (French broom), Spartium junceum (Spanish broom) and Ulex europea (gorse)
• Crataegus monogyna (Italian hawthorn)
• non-native species of blackberry: Rubus discolor (Himalayan blackberry) and R. ulmifolius (thornless blackberry)
• Cortaderia selloana and C. jubata (pampas grass, jubata grass), when these plants cannot be removed with a pickaxe.
• other non-native, invasive species threatening native plant communities and wildlife habitat identified in the Wildfire Prevention District annual report;
and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED: That the selective use of herbicides on City owned land in the Wildfire Prevention District shall be implemented in accordance with best management practices, a strategic integrated vegetation management plan and other applicable local, state and federal requirements concerning the safe use of herbicides such as public notification, use of colored dye and return intervals; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED: That the limited exemption to the IPM policy to selectively use herbicides on city owned land in the Wildfire Prevention District shall be expressly limited to undeveloped, non-landscaped areas (excluding developed fields, playgrounds, picnic, and other high use areas); and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Fire Department shall annually prepare a report to the City Council on vegetation management efforts over the past twelve months that includes a detailed account of amounts and types of herbicide used and a vegetation management plan for the upcoming year.



IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, ___________________________________, 20_____

PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

AYES – BROOKS, BRUNNER, CHANG, DE LA FUENTE, NADEL, QUAN, REID, WAN

NOES-

ABSENT-

ABSTENTION-

ATTEST: __________________________________

LATONDA SIMMONS
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council

Of the City of Oakland, California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Sue Piper, Policy Analyst

Councilmember Jean Quan’s Office

January 15, 2005 (510) 238-7004



CITY TO CONSIDER SELECTIVE USE OF HERBICIDES IN ELIMINATING INVASIVE
HIGHLY FLAMMABLE VEGETATION IN WILDFIRE PREVENTION DISTRICT


As part of a long-term strategy to reduce the fire danger in Oakland’s
hills, the Wildfire Prevention Assessment District (WPAD) and
Councilmember Jean Quan are sponsoring a Town Hall Meeting on
Wednesday, January 26, 2005 at 7 p.m. to explore the limited use of
herbicides as part of the city’s wildfire vegetation management
program. The City’s Integrated Pest Management Policy currently
prohibits the use of herbicides on city property.
“It’s extremely difficult to control the eucalyptus, pampas grass,
broom and other invasive, highly flammable plants without the targeted
use of herbicides,” said Robert Sieben, a member of the WPAD Advisory
Council who has successfully organized volunteer efforts to create fire
breaks in the Hiller Highlands area which was devastated in the 1991
Firestorm. He is a member of a WPAD Task Force that includes City
staff, representatives from the environmental group Friends of Sausal
Creek, and District 4 staff that has researched the use of herbicides
as one of many tools used in vegetation management.

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TOWN HALL MEETING ON HERBICIDES
PAGE TWO

“Just look at the eucalpytus grove above the North Oakland Sports
Field, where eucalyptus were logged a few years ago. Now, instead of
one trunk, we’re dealing with 4 or 5 newly sprouted trunks in a rapidly
growing forest. Rather than having to come back year after year and
hand-strip the new growth, we can eradicate in one session just by
painting herbicide on the fresh cut. It gets the job done while saving
time and money and it avoids disruption of the steep hillside because
the roots remain to hold the soil,” he explained.
“A number of other entities, including East Bay Regional Parks, UC
Berkeley, and the East Bay Municipal Utilities District, all include
the selective use of herbicides in their vegetation management
policies. They have found, as we are finding, that these highly
flammable, invasive plants constitute a greater risk to streams,
wildlife and the safety of our neighborhoods than does the proper use
of selected herbicides,” said Councilmember Jean Quan.
She is planning to present a resolution to the City Council authorizing
a limited exemption to the city’s Integrated Pest Management Policy to
use herbicides in the Wildfire Prevention District and other locations
identified by the Fire Marshall as a potential fire hazard.
“There are strict state and federal regulations regarding the use of
herbicides that we must meet. They restrict the way in which these
chemicals are used so that we sensitive to the health and safety of the
surrounding environment,” she added.
Guest speakers at the January 27th meeting, which will be held in City
Hall Hearing Room 4 (1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland)
include:
Thomas Klatt, Director Emergency Planning & Communication Police
Department
Jacob Sigg, former President of the California Plant Society
Stephen E. Abbors, Manager of Watershed and Recreation Natural
Resources, Department, East Bay Municipal Water District
Scott Hill, East Bay Municipal Water District
Nancy Brownfield, IPM Specialist, East Bay Regional Park District
Jean Quan, Councilmember District 4
Robert Sieben, M.D., Wildfire Prevention Assessment District Advisory
Council
Further information about the resolution is available at
http://www.jeanquan.org.