Emergency Hazard Tree Mortality Program

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

Abstract: Emergency Hazard Tree Mortality Program Tuolumne County, CA 2010 County Population: 55,365 Program Year: 2017 In September 2015, the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors declared a Local State of Emergency related to the statewide drought and subsequent western pine bark beetle infestation in the forests of the Sierra Nevada. The Tuolumne County Office of Emergency Services (OES) was directed to develop an Emergency Hazard Tree Mortality Program in response to the rapidly growing number of dying trees, and to mitigate the many potential fire and tree fall dangers associated with epidemic tree mortality in wildland/urban interface areas. Since that time, Tuolumne County OES has built an effective Tree Mortality Program from the ground up. OES has coordinated with multiple public and private agencies to remove thousands of dead trees from residential areas. With a limited staff of three employees, OES has spearheaded outreach efforts with thousands of mailers, a Tree Mortality Telephone Hotline, an innovative online form filing system and community workshops. Using local, state and federal funding streams, Tuolumne County was the first Northern California county to take significant steps to address the severe health and safety hazard posed by statewide pine tree die-off. Despite its small size, Tuolumne County has become a leader to other counties for developing and implementing an effective Emergency Hazard Tree Mortality program.