Vegetation Management in Santa Ynez Riverbed

Healthy riparian corridors with unimpaired hydrology are natural fire breaks, with well watered vegetation acting to catch and extinguish embers and dampen fire advancement. Unhealthy riparian corridors choked with non-native vegetation can have the opposite effect, acting as conduits for fire entering into WUI areas adjacent to development. The Santa Ynez River runs north south along the eastern boundary of the city of Lompoc. Fuel build up and the presence of flammable exotics present a fire risk and there are several very high or high risk severity zones identified by CalFIRE in the riparian corridor. The ongoing presence of homeless encampments exacerbates this risk due to potential ignition from activities in those encampments.

Scope: Identify priority sites and fire risk reduction strategies for high risk zones. Strategies will include a mixture of fuel reduction and habitat restoration to reduce fire risk, increase fire resilience, and improve habitat quality. Use project as an opportunity to engage area residents on the hazards of highly flammable non-native vegetation and the importance of fuel reduction and use of native plant species to foster fire resilience and improve habitat and biodiversity.

Status: Conceptual

Cost: Medium cost

Partners: Native Cost Action Network, Wildfire Resilience Collaborative, UCSB Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, White Buffalo Land Trust, Chumash Community, and Santa Barbara Fire Safe Council (SBFSC)