Save Our San Francisco Peninsula Watershed
The San Francisco Peninsula Fire Safe Council would like to thank you for your interest in saving the San Francisco Bay Area from a regional “Complex Wildfire” calamity. The Bay Area’s entire economy depends solely on securing and protecting the “Hetch Hetchy Water System.” “When this disaster strikes,” it will inevitably destroy our citizen’s access to the water held in our watersheds in San Mateo County and the East Bay.
Within San Mateo County, 40,500 homes are classified at being high to extreme risk of complex wildfire damage. This extreme risk also extends to the Peninsula’s Crystal Spring reservoirs adjoining our water supply system. A catastrophic wildfire will cause irreversible damage to our reservoirs, destroy our homes, economy and deeply impact our way of life for decades to come. “Help Save Our San Francisco Peninsula Watershed“ from tragedy and Save Bay Area residents tens of billions of dollars.
THE REAL PROBLEM:
The Lack of Will, Not Money
In an affluent region where billions of dollars are collected annually by the government, there is a predisposition to assign fire prevention and suppression to a poor cousin long before other infrastructure and services needs are met. In an affluent region where billions of dollars from around the world enter the economy every week, why is there no “white knight” amongst the technology giants and captains that has stepped forward to address this shortfall? Aside from having all the money in the world but no will to use it, just how do we finance such an important public work? As California enters a new era of climate uncertainty in which cataclysmic fires could be the “new normal”, people can minimize fire risk by choosing not to live in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), areas that are identified as fire hazard zones due to the presence of flammable vegetation.
The Reset Necessary for Environmental Safety Requires a Wildfire & Fuel Management Plan “The safety of our public lands and adjoining communities is San Francisco Peninsula Fire Safe Council’s top priority. Reducing fuel loads and removing non-native tree species will improve the health of the San Mateo County parks and open space lands and decrease the risk of a catastrophic wildfire.” said Laura E. Joss, General Superintendent of Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
- Non-native pine, eucalyptus, cypress, cotoneasters, and broom near the park boundary and adjacent to residential communities will be
removed. - Removal of non-native trees and shrubs will improve grassland habitat for native plant species such as Hickman’s cinquefoil which is listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.
- Large trees to be removed will be flagged 1-2 weeks prior to the start of the project.
- Fuel reduction efforts will lower the wildfire hazard on park land and provide safer access for firefighters during suppression actions if a wildfire should occur.
- Trees will be climbed up to remove “ladder fuels” so lower branches will not carry fire from the ground into treetops. Chipping of tree material will be done on-site and dispersed throughout the area.
- Visitors may experience temporary closures or detours while the fuel reduction work is being performed. Signs will be posted informing visitors which trails are closed.
Wildfire Funding
In 1994, the San Francisco Water Department published the San Francisco Watershed Management Plans Department Public Opinion Survey Report (POSR)
Their Executive Summary answers the question:
“What watershed management goals are most important to the public?”
Their Executive Summary found:
Water users determined the greatest role for the SFPUC was to “limit access to the watershed”, and restrict human degradation of the reservoirs. {SFPUC to act as chief authority in securing this resource. This is a tried and true historical measure for protecting watersheds meant for large human populations.Golden Gate National Recreation Area,situated in and around San Francisco including the San Francisco Peninsula Watershed, is the most visited park in the National Park Service, hosting more than 15 million visitors in 2019. While it’s easy to point at the hundreds of fires along the west coast and blame it on climate change, 90 percent of wildfires are in fact human caused according to Catastrophes Facts + Statistics: Wildfires 2020 Report. Since September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, Save Our Bay aka California Watershed Posse, has monitored the STOP’S Pollution Control Efforts in San Mateo County and Eco-terrorism impacting the San Francisco Peninsula Watershed.
How much in higher water bills would the public be willing to pay for greater public access?
55% of respondents are willing to pay $1 or more per month for water in order to fund additional water treatment and protective services for greater public access. (Section 2.10)
In the POSR, the water users reported a willingness to pay $1 per month or more in order to secure the SFPUC watersheds on either side of San Francisco Bay. Advancements in fuel management technologies, make this goal attainable for $10. per month .
Our Fire Safe Council proposes a Public / Private Partnership with SFPUC that will fund the services needed to manage our watersheds and prevent catastrophic complex wildfires in perpetuity. For $10/month, the 2.7 million Bar Area water users accounts can accomplish this goal together and prevent the inevitable San Francisco Peninsula Watershed Perfect FireStorm.
Our Save Our Watershed Campaign Will Begin Here
1. Engage the expertise of Forest Fuel Management Specialists
2. Remove Thousands of tons of dead trees and brush fuel from El Granada’s Quarry-Wicklow by completing the Wicklow Fuel Management Plan by December 2022.
3. Educate the residents and San Mateo County stakeholders how to protect their property in the event of wildfire.
Half Moon Bay Coastside Foundation is organized under the California
Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. We are
dedicated to the advocacy of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and a coalition member of the Water Quality Protection Program that endeavor to preserve clean water, marine and watershed resources within its boundaries.
California 501 (c) 3Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable The far reach of the Sanctuary borders extends from San Francisco Bay south all the way to Cambria in San Luis Obispo County. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a gift all of us can share. And all of us must work together. Our California Watershed Posse and San Francisco Peninsula Fire Safe Council in the Water Quality Protection Program.