UC Berkeley, the city of Oakland and the East Bay Municipal Utilities District have jointly applied for a federal grant to cut down 85,000 trees in the East Bay hills in efforts to mitigate the risk of wildfires.

The FEMA grant would allow the groups to remove non-native trees that pose the greatest fire hazard — such as eucalyptus, Monterey pine and acacia — while preserving native plants that pose a smaller risk. Between 1923 and 1991, the hills saw an estimated 15 major blazes, the most recent of which destroyed over 3,000 homes and cost more than $1.5 billion, according to a FEMA draft environmental impact statement of the project.

The plan also calls for continued maintenance of the affected areas, including the application of herbicide to eucalyptus stumps, which can resprout after cutting. This maintenance will continue for 10 years and should prevent the trees from returning.

According to Thomas Klatt, an environmental projects manager at the university, UC Berkeley has been involved in projects like this for the last decade. The monetary cost of removing risk-prone trees, about $5 million according to Klatt, is less than the costs of large-scale fires. Klatt also said that in the 19th century, the Berkeley Hills were generally free of large vegetation, and this plan would return the landscape to its historic setting.

On Saturday, representatives from FEMA held a public comment session at Claremont Middle School in Oakland to discuss the draft environmental impact statement. More than 120 people attended the meeting, at which comments both for and against the proposal were made. Many at the meeting had serious concerns that the cutting would damage the local ecosystem and that the herbicide used for maintenance would permanently poison streams in the area.

Others are concerned that the project will limit access and ruin the appeal of the popular hiking and running trails that crisscross the hills.

“As a runner, I like having trees up there, and if they take out a lot of trees it affects the shade mix,” said Carl Rose, coach of the Strawberry Canyon Track Club. ”Trees block some of the wind, and I appreciate the natural beauty of the trees. We run up there three to four days a week — that’s pretty primary for most of our runners, and they’re in pretty serious training at the national and international level. It’s probably going to affect Cal athletics as a whole.”

The university’s share of the project will cut 22,000 trees from around 99 acres in Strawberry Canyon Recreational Area and Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve. One of the zones slated for cutting borders the Clark Kerr Campus, according to the environmental impact statement.

Contact Jacob Brown at jbrown@dailycal.org and follow him on Twitter @jacobebrown.

The post UC Berkeley among applicants for tree-cutting grant to mitigate wildfires appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Steven Pham/Courtesy

A bill proposed to the ASUC Senate aims to support the dance community on the UC Berkeley campus.

The bill, SB 213, is sponsored by Student Action Senator Rosemary Hua and Student Action Senator-elect Lauren Week and will help dance groups on campus find spaces to practice. Hua, a dancer herself, hopes the bill will raise awareness of the issue.

“Hopefully, with this bill we’re showing the school that there’s a huge need (for practice space),” Hua said. “Our community is suffering.”

According to Hua, there are more than 15 dance groups on campus, encompassing approximately 600 students. Primarily, these groups hold practice on Lower Sproul, in front of Haas Pavilion and in Hearst Gym.

However, scheduling time for the spaces in Hearst Gym is often complicated, said Week, and with Lower Sproul closing this year for construction, available dance spaces will be increasingly difficult to find.

“Currently, dance groups have been forced to dance in the parking structures underneath the RSF and Underhill Field, which is dirty and unsafe, especially at night when most of our groups practice,” said Week in an email. “This is why SB 213 is so crucial.”

Hua negotiated a $33,000 contract with Recreational Sports Director Michael Weinberger to open up Strawberry Canyon Recreational Area for dancers during the current school year.

Weinberger said that working with the ASUC has been a great experience and that Rec Sports would be willing to continue working with the dance community as long as the ASUC can continue to supply funding.

“We’re very much willing to continue (the contract),” Weinberger said. “We just need to cover staffing. That’s where the money is going.”

Despite the addition of Strawberry Canyon, some members of the dance community still expressed concern about finding sufficient practice spaces. Although Strawberry Canyon has been helpful in alleviating the problem of limited space, Berkeley Ballroom member Caitlyn Keith said it can be difficult and inconvenient for larger dance groups to find transportation to Strawberry Canyon, and space is still limited for all dance groups.

Hua said she hopes the bill and the agreement made with Rec Sports will foster a positive relationship between the campus and the dance community.

“I’m hoping that this bill will also show the Rec Center that we’re thankful for what’s happening,” Hua said.

SB 213 will be discussed in the senate’s external committee on Monday then voted on during Wednesday’s senate meeting.

Contact Jennie Yoon at jyoon@dailycal.org.

The post ASUC Senate bill aims to provide campus dance groups more practice spaces appeared first on The Daily Californian.