The San Rafael Hill and Deer Valley Fuel Reduction Project (proposed project) involves conducting vegetation management activities within Boyd Memorial Park, also known colloquially as San Rafael Hill, and within the Deer Valley open space area in the city of San Rafael. Of the 122 acres of total treatment area, 79.1 acres would be treated within the San Rafael Hill open space area and 42.9 acres would be treated within the Deer Valley open space area. The proposed project would create fuel reduction zones to slow wildfire spread, reduce wildfire intensity, extend the time residents would have to evacuate, and provide firefighters with better access to the fire’s perimeter should a wildfire occur. Removal of fire-hazardous, invasive species and dead vegetation in the fuel reduction zones would be intended to reduce fire hazards to the adjacent community and restore these areas to more natural and fire-resilient habitat.
CLICK HERE to see photos of a typical fuel reduction project in which dense stands of nonnative invasive French broom are removed from the understory. Removal of French broom and other nonnative, invasive, fire hazardous vegetation is a huge focus of this and many other projects. CLICK HERE to read more about French broom and why removing it improves habitat and reduces fire risk.
The Initial Study/ Mitigated Negative Declaration was approved at the August 21, 2025 Board of Directors meeting and is available to download HERE
The notice sent to neighbors in the project area is available HERE.
Would you like to learn more about how vegetation management helps reduce risk?
CLICK HERE to see recent case studies from CAL FIRE describing the role of vegetation management projects in recent fire suppression efforts.
CLICK HERE for a short video explaining how vegetation management alters wildfire behavior.
CLICK HERE for more resources on the science behind this work.
