No-Cost Chipping Program Helps Residents with Wildfire Preparedness
The Resource Conservation District (RCD) of Santa Cruz County is thrilled to announce our Summer 2021 No-Cost Community Chipping Program. The program is available to Santa Cruz County residents who live in areas, defined as the Wildland Urban Interface, that have the potential for wildfire to impact their properties. Early bird registration started May 7th for residents in Santa Cruz County neighborhoods that have achieved, or are in the process of, FireWise USA recognition. Registration begins for ALL other eligible Santa Cruz County residents on May 12, 2021 at 6:00 AM.With the limited rains we had this past winter, Santa Cruz County is likely to experience greater than normal wildfire risk due to extra dry conditions. This program incentivizes the creation of defensible space around homes in high wildfire risk areas by offering no-cost chipping for residents who clear vegetation within 100 feet of occupied structures or 10 feet on either side of a private road. “Now more than ever we need to be diligent about the landscape immediately next to our homes,” explained Angie Gruys, who manages the chipping program for the RCD. “It’s been a difficult year for so many and we hope that by offsetting some of the cost more folks will be able to reduce wildfire hazards around their properties and neighborhoods.”
Establishing and maintaining defensible space around your home and outbuildings, before fire-prone summer months, is imperative in avoiding major damages to your property when wildfire strikes. Defensible space is the buffer you create between buildings and the vegetation that surrounds them to prevent structures from catching fire, either from direct flame contact or radiant heat. Creating ample buffer zones not only increases the chances of your home surviving a fire on its own, but it also gives firefighters a safer location from which to defend your home. In fact, fire crews are more likely to spend time and prioritize defending your property if you have taken steps to limit fuel loads around your buildings.
Having defensible space does not mean you need a ring of bare dirt surrounding your property; with proper planning, you can have a fire safe home and a beautiful landscape. The general concept is that trees should be kept farthest from the house, shrubs can be closer, and lawns and bedding plants can be the closest. If your landscaping has a different configuration than this, you can improve defensibility by keeping larger trees limbed up and shrubs free of dead, dry material.
How does the program work?
Signups are first-come-first served by region and each household must complete a two-part registration process to be enrolled and confirmed into the program. Part one is an online pre-registration applicationto verify space is available, and part two is achipping scheduling formthat is completed once your materials are stacked and ready for chipping. A detailed schedule of areas served, deadlines for program applications, chipping dates and guidelines for preparing materials for chipping are posted on the RCD No-Cost Chipping Program web page.
Santa Cruz County Forest Health and Fire Resilience Public Works Plan (PWP)
The RCD’s Santa Cruz County Forest Health and Fire Resilience Public Works Plan (PWP) was certified by the California Coastal Commission on June 25, 2021. View the Santa Cruz County Forest Health and Fire Resilience Public Works Plan here:
PWP final 061621 changes tracked (MS Word)
The goal of the RCDSCC PWP is to meet the need for programmatic permitting for high-priority forest health and fuels management projects to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire and improve ecological conditions for forests, woodlands, and grasslands within the coastal zone. The PWP provides a planning framework to efficiently review and authorize vegetation management projects within the Program Area over the next ten years using principles, strategies, and best management practices that align fire prevention planning with the protection of coastal resources. This draft PWP is the result of a coordinated planning process of the RCDSCC and San Mateo RCD, in collaboration with State Parks, Cal FIRE, CA Coastal Commission, and staff of the planning departments of Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties. A parallel Draft PWP is under development to serve the need in San Mateo County.
Date of Resource Conservation District (RCD) of Santa Cruz County Public Noticing: April 28, 2021
View the complete RCD public notice by clicking here.
Date of California Coastal Commission Public Noticing: June 25, 2021View the complete Coastal Commission public notice by clicking here.
Date of Public Hearing: The RCDSCC will host a public hearing on the draft PWP at the RCDSCC Board of Directors Meeting June 9, 2021 at 6:30 PM
Location: Web https://zoom.us/j/708386048?pwd=bm5RWklIbEIvbEQ0K0ZWdTFmMENQQT09
Or Phone 1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 708-386-048, Meeting Password: 599600
The meeting agenda will be posted at least 10 days prior to the hearing, and can be found on the RCDSCC’s website here: www.rcdsantacruz.org/board-meeting-docs
Questions and comments regarding the Draft Santa Cruz County Forest Health and Fire Resilience Public Works Plan can be directed to the RCDSCC at or 831-464-2950.
Written comments are due by midnight on June 8th. Oral comments will continue to be received at the June 9th hearing.
Download comments that were received through the public comment period of June 9th.
Click here to view public comments submitted to the San Mateo PWP.
About Public Works Plans (PWP): A PWP is a land use planning document that plans for and sets a framework for implementing a specific public works project or array of public works-related activities. A PWP provides a land use planning alternative to Local Coastal Programs (LCPs) for obtaining approval of large or phased public works projects, as well as any development proposed by a special district, and remains under the authority of the Coastal Commission irrespective of coastal permit jurisdictional boundaries. A PWP is an alternative to project-by-project review for public works, which would otherwise require multiple coastal development permits for different components of the public works project. For more information contact the Coastal Commission at
Board Hearing Power Point Presentation
The Resource Conservation District is here in service to help heal the community by healing the land
As firefighters continue to make progress containing the wildfires that burn across our beloved Santa Cruz Mountains, our hearts are with those serving on the front lines, as well as those affected and displaced. Amidst the grief, the outpouring of community support to lift one another up has been inspiring. It is this strength of community that will pull us through, together. And as we begin to think beyond crisis response to recovery, know that the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County (RCD) is here in service to help heal the community by healing the land. We are coordinating with local, state, and federal partners to put in place critical information and technical assistance for post-fire watershed recovery across the affected area. We are working with our partners to gear up and prepare various resources for when those evacuated by the fire are able to safely return to their land.Grant Program Helps Fund Voluntary Best Management Practices for Irrigated Agriculture
The Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County is wrapping up a three-year project funded by a US EPA Clean Water Grant through an agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board. The goal of the project was to reduce pesticide loading and toxicity to surface and groundwater in the Pajaro River watershed by collaborating with growers and landowners and providing cost-share funding to implement a variety of voluntary management practices. Grant partners, including Loma Prieta RCD, UC Davis Marine Pollution Studies Lab, UC Cooperative Extension, CDPR, NRCS, and other knowledgeable members of the Technical Advisory Committee selected priority areas for outreach to growers and landowners, and helped select project sites.
Livestock and Land Grant Funding Wraps Up with the Implementation of Six Demonstration Projects
On February 28, 2020 the Resource Conservation District concluded a four year grant funded by a US EPA Clean Water Grant through an agreement with the State Water Resource Control Board. The monies were used to implement the Livestock and Land program, which was started in Santa Cruz County by local conservation districts and NGO’s as a way to work affect positive changes to water quality concerns from livestock facilities. This round of funding targeted small ranches in the Pajaro River Watershed where we work with landowners on a voluntary basis to help reduce the potential of sediments and fecal coliform from entering local waterways.
$5.3 M Award For Forest Health and Fire Resiliency Across San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties
The Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) of San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties have been awarded two grants totaling nearly $5.3 million for a collaborative regional effort to improve the health of local forests, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, and mitigate climate change.
The funds will be used to reduce potential wildfire fuel loads over 968 acres of forest, and to reforest 80 acres of private and public lands across the Santa Cruz Mountains. Partners involved in the project include Amah Mutsun Land Trust, Big Creek Lumber, California State Parks, Girl Scouts of Northern California, Peninsula Open Space Trust, San Mateo County Parks, Sempervirens Fund, Save the Redwoods League, and private landowners.
“Forests cross property lines, so collaborative efforts such as these are essential for restoring forest health,” states Lisa Lurie, Executive Director of the RCD of Santa Cruz County. “Through partnership, diverse interests are coming together to work towards common goals of reducing the risks of catastrophic wildfire while helping our forests to thrive.”
