Wildflower insurance for fire damages to native ecosystems? $20+ mil?

====================

Mike Jarske, Battalion Chief
CAL FIRE, Coastside Operations
1191 Main St., Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 (650) 245-1711, FAX (650) 726-5213

Dear CAL FIRE,

The clerk at Mid-peninsula Regional Open Space District recently sent me an email with a list of burns that have been conducted at the District Preserves, and lists the agencies financially responsible for any damages caused by those burns.

I also received an example of the typical Burn Permit to Enter, which outlines in Clause 7, Insurance---that your agency is supposed to have insurance to cover:
"... not less than $5,000,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and $1,000,000 per occurrence for property damage.

According to the District, your agency is responsible for any property damage for the following burns:

Preserve Date Year Acres Lead Agency
Russian Ridge August, 1998 80 CAL FIRE
Russian Ridge July, 1999 145 CAL FIRE
Russian Ridge October, 2002 65 CAL FIRE
Russian Ridge July, 2007 120 CAL FIRE
Russian Ridge July, 2009 144 CAL FIRE

Unfortunately, the cumulative fire damages to the native wildflowers and native bunchgrass habitats on the 100± acres at the north end of the Russian Ridge preserve alone, total $10 million dollars, or about $10,000 per acre to mitigate the fire damages.

$10,000 per acre is the estimated costs to replant the wildflower and native bunchgrass habitats, to get them back to pre-burn levels of coverage, and to eradicate the weeds that have been spread by the fires.

Some of the weeds spread by the fires at Russian Ridge, have been wild oats, Harding grass, yellow star thistle and the Italian thistle, and you can see details at http://www.ecoseeds.com/invent.html.

Since the entire Russian Ridge preserve total mitigation costs may exceed $20 million dollars, does CAL FIRE have sufficient insurance to cover the measurable native buncgrass and wildflower resource damages that have occurred so far?

STIPULATIONS. An agreement made between parties, to see which issues are actually still in contentions, to come to an agreement about certain facts and issues.
Can your agency stipulate to the following:

1.) Stipulate that native wildflower fields and native bunchgrass habitats are considered by the State Department of Fish and Game, as among the rarest and most endangered plant communities in California, in terms of the tiny percentage of existing relicts in 2010, compared to their state-wide coverage in pre-European times?

2.) Stipulate that all of the burns conducted by your agency, were done without an EIR under CEQA, and that a pre-burn checklist is not a substitute for an EIR?

3.) Stipulate that your agency agreed in conducting each burn, to cover all potential property damages caused by the burn?

4.) Stipulate that any long term or measurable cumulative damages to the native bunchgrass habitat and wildflower fields, constitute property damages?

5.) Stipulate that your agency is liable for the mitigation costs, to bring back each of the Preserves that you burned to their pre-burn wildflower and native grass percentage of cover, and to bear the cost of eradicating the weeds that have grown in after the fires?

6.) Stipulate that if it is determined that $20+ million in damages to the resources has occurred at the Russian Ridge preserve from the numerous burns, that sum could be covered by CALFIRE?

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely, Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333
Box 609, Redwood City, CA 94064
====================================

Matt Brown, Fire Captain
Santa Clara County Fire Dept. (408) 829-3484

Dear Santa Clara County Fire,

I also received an example of the typical Burn Permit to Enter, which outlines in Clause 7, Insurance---that your agency is supposed to have insurance to cover: "... not less than $5,000,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and $1,000,000 per occurrence for property damage.

According to the District, your agency is responsible for property damage for the following burns:

Preserve Date Year Acres Lead Agency

Rancho de Guadalupe June, 1997 9 Santa Clara County Fire
Rancho de Guadalupe June, 1999 9 Santa Clara County Fire
Rancho de Guadalupe June, 2003 9 Santa Clara County Fire
Rancho de Guadalupe July, 2004 9 Santa Clara County Fire
Rancho de Guadalupe June, 2009 30 Santa Clara County Fire
Rancho de Guadalupe June, 2010 30 Santa Clara County Fire

Unfortunately, the cumulative fire damages to the native wildflowers and native bunchgrass habitats, from the burns conducted by CALFIRE on the 100± acres at the north end of the Russian Ridge preserve alone, total $10 million dollars, or about $10,000 per acre to mitigate the fire damages.

Using the burns conducted by CALFIRE as an example, some of the weeds spread by the fires on the Russian Ridge preserve have been wild oats, Harding grass, yellow star thistle and the Italian thistle, and you can see details at http://www.ecoseeds.com/invent.html.

Therefore, the mitigation costs to the Rancho de Guadalupe preserve may be only $300,000-$400,000, which could be covered by your insurance?

STIPULATIONS. An agreement made between parties, to see which issues are actually still in contentions, to come to an agreement about certain facts and issues.

Can your agency stipulate to the following:
1.) Stipulate that native wildflower fields and native bunchgrass habitats are considered by the State Department of Fish and Game, as among the rarest and most endnagered plant communities in California, in terms of the tiny percentage of existing relicts in 2010, compared to their state-wide coverage in pre-European times?

2.) Stipulate that all of the burns conducted by your agency, were done without an EIR under CEQA, and that any pre-burn checklist is not a substitute for an EIR?

3.) Stipulate that your agency agreed in conducting each burn, to cover all potential property damages caused by the burn?

4.) Stipulate that any long term or measurable cumulative damages to the native bunchgrass habitat and wildflower fields, constitute property damages?

5.) Stipulate that your agency is liable for the mitigation costs, to bring back each of the Preserves that you burned to their pre-burn wildflower and native bunchgrass percentage of cover, and to bear the cost of eradicating the weeds that have grown in after the fires?

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely, Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333
Box 609, Redwood City, CA 94064

===========================