Draft Plan:

Executive Summary (14 pages, 1.6 MB)  Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.

Full Report (232 pages, 9.5 MB) Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.

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This fall MMWD starts the environmental review process for the district's Wildfire Protection and Habitat Improvement Plan (WPHIP). Formerly known as the 2012 Vegetation Management Plan, MMWD has renamed the plan with the launch of the environmental review process to avoid confusion with the district's 1995 Vegetation Management Plan. The new name also more accurately reflects the plan's purpose. This new plan addresses fire hazard reduction and biodiversity protection on the 22,000 acres of watershed land managed by MMWD with drinking water protection as the number one priority.

Since implementing the 1995 plan the district has learned many important lessons about what management techniques are effective and fiscally feasible. New information about fire management, ecological processes and management tools have become available. In addition, environmental conditions have changed, and there are now threats to biodiversity that were not foreseen in the early 1990s.

As such, a new plan is needed to guide MMWD into the foreseeable future.

Leonard Charles and Associates worked with MMWD to author the Draft WPHIP. The main goals are:

• To protect Marin’s communities, water supply and natural resources from catastrophic wildfire.
• To preserve habitats, plants and animals into the future.
• To prepare for and adapt to future changes.

The Draft WPHIP describes 38 actions needed to achieve these goals. They include fuelbreak construction and maintenance, weed control, habitat restoration, vegetation mapping and monitoring. These actions address known threats including climate change, Sudden Oak Death, increased wildfire risk and accelerating weed spread.

The Draft WPHIP also assesses the likely cost and effectiveness of the various actions.

The EIR Process

Panorama Environmental will prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Draft WPHIP.The EIR scoping period for the Draft WPHIP is Nov. 1-Dec. 3, 2012. Comment letters may be submitted electronically, in pdf text format (if less than 10 megabytes in total size), to wphipeir@marinwater.org.
All comments must be received no later than 4:00 PM, Monday, December 3, 2012.

The Draft EIR will include:

• An assessment of the potential impacts of implementing various alternative approaches or of continuing the current program without changes;
• Analyses of impacts to water and air quality, plants and animals, human health, traffic, noise, scenic beauty and many other factors that contribute to our quality of life in Marin County; and
• A recommended alternative approach that best protects the water supply, Mt. Tamalpais and the community's in MMWD's service area.

Overview of the EIR process. Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.

Notice of Preparation

Draft Plan Scoping Meeting Presentation (Nov. 15, 2012) Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.

Draft Wildfire Protection and Habitat Improvement Plan Initial Study

Effective Public Participation in the Development of the WPHIP

Like you, MMWD is committed to protecting our drinking water, our communities and Mt. Tamalpais. We welcome your participation in this next step towards updating and improving the WPHIP. We hope you will read the plan, ask questions, visit the mountain and become an active participant as we analyze impacts and seek solutions. Our goal is to empower you to become effective participants in the protection of our most precious resources. See the online WPHIP Calendar for a current schedule.