GWP Fire Mitigation

Fire remediation in George Washington Park has long been a contentious issue, but I believe we finally have a balanced and targeted operation planned to address the park’s fire fuel concerns. A biological assessment was completed to inform the fuel removal planning process, ensuring the best possible protection for our endangered and threatened species. Additionally, the city did an excellent job of defining and documenting a project management process to ensure that planning was both effective and thorough, with a final plan that is clear and actionable.

Getting to this point in the GWP fire mitigation process was neither easy nor quick, but I’m proud of everyone who persevered to get us here. I know it may seem like things move slowly, but the fire mitigation work that Public Works is about to undertake comes after a year of analysis, countless hours of conversation, a great deal of effort, and no small amount of trust and cooperation among passionate individuals who don’t always see eye to eye. To everyone involved, I am deeply grateful.

By caring and cooperating—by carefully considering each other’s perspectives—all involved have helped create a replicable maintenance planning process that balances community needs with environmental stewardship. This means we now have a plan for ongoing, routine maintenance in GWP that keeps our community safe while nurturing our unique forest treasure—and perhaps one day brings the Monarchs back to California’s first recognized Monarch Overwintering Site.