Status Update
2022 proved to be a dynamic year for the Los Gatos Creek Watershed Collaborative as the Forest Health Grant work was launched. The first order of business was completion of environmental work for all of the collaborative partners, San Jose Water Company (SJW), Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) and Santa Clara County Parks (SCCP). MROSD has completed all environmental work, SJW will be complete in January and SCCP should be complete in the second quarter of 2023. It is important to note, that even with primary documentation and analysis complete or wrapping up, ongoing surveys for biological and archaeological resources will continue ahead of vegetation treatments to ensure project areas are not adversely affected.
Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (SCCFSC) is proud to report that vegetation management operations began on MROSD land at the end of November. We expect work to begin on SJW land early 2023, and SCCP to follow in the second or third quarter of 2023. To achieve this will require ongoing coordination with our partners, consultants, contractors and CAL FIRE. SCCFSC works diligently to provide coordination and project management support.
For SCCFSC, one of the biggest achievements of 2022 is the building of strong foundation of communication between the partners of this project. Facilitation by our excellent contractors and consultants helped establish this strength in the partnership. The sharing of ideas, strategies and knowledge between collaborative partners is key to the effectiveness of a forest health project.
We feel confident that the environmental work and planning completed in 2022 will act as a cornerstone for the next two years of vegetation management and reach the goal of greater wildfire resiliency and ecosystem health for the Los Gatos Creek Watershed.
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