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National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy Success Story

Bishop Pine Thinning Extends Limantour Fuel Break
Point Reyes National Seashore, California
Cohesive Strategy – Response to Wildfire
2012

Conservation corps crew members cutting and hauling young bishop pine trees.
Conservation corps crew members cutting and hauling young bishop pine trees at Point Reyes National Seashore. NPS / J. Chapman.

During February 2012, dense thickets of young Bishop pine were removed along Limantour Road in Point Reyes National Seashore between the Sky Trail and Bayview Trail parking areas. The trees were cleared and thinned for 30 feet on either side of the road under a cooperative agreement with a local conservation corps.

This project extends the Limantour Fuel Break that is being developed through a series of prescribed burn units south of the pine thinning treatment where the vegetation transitions to coastal scrub.

Thinning of the Bishop pine was needed to improve emergency access and egress during a wildfire along this major corridor in the park. The highly flammable immature Bishop pine is in an extremely hazardous stage of its development since it flourished after the Vision Fire in 1995. Without treatment, both firefighter and public safety would be greatly threatened by driving this route during a wildfire. Limantour Road is only way to evacuate for hundreds of visitors on a typical day. This route, which provides vehicles one way in and one way out, serves Limantour Beach, the Point Reyes Hostel and the Clem Miller Environmental Education Center as well as many trailheads and two back country campgrounds.

Contact: Jennifer Chapman, Fire Communication and Education Specialist, jennifer_chapman@nps.gov, (415)464-5133.

Key Words: Public and firefighter safety