About Us

The Bolinas Eucalyptus project is a group of concerned citizens who have come together to form a non-profit organization, with the Bolinas Community Center as our fiscal sponsor. Our goal is to mitigate multiple hazards (fire, evacuation route blockage, and groundwater depletion) posed by numerous overgrown, excessively crowded, and neglected stands of eucalyptus trees in and around our town. That area will then be replanted with California native plants (see BEP Restoration Outline for Zone 5).

This past summer, we have seen a deep interest in making Bolinas safer and more ecologically healthy. We have collected 500 signatures of residents in favor of controlling a wildly invasive species that represents the single greatest source of heavy fire fuel in our town. While inexorably encroaching on the native habitat that supports our local biodiversity, resulting in a devastated ecology, at the same time these trees pose significant threats to evacuation routes. We believe, as do the signatories, that the time has come to manage the eucalyptus trees of Zone 5.

 A project of this scope requires detailed agency authorization. Presently, we are scheduled to have a "pre-application meeting" with agencies who will evaluate the situation. To bring both us and them up to speed on this issue, we have engaged numerous arborists, foresters, and biologists for their input. All believe that our project to remove and/or moderate the expansion of these stands is vital work to safeguard our community and to take an important step toward the environmental care that, as stated in the Bolinas Community Plan, is among our most important concerns.

After a year of research and consulting with experts, we have concluded that the most pressing issue to be addressed at this time is work that will ensure that our main evacuation or relocation routes are viable under any extreme weather or seismic events.

This leads us to the removal of the large, ailing, and structurally compromised blue gum eucalyptus trees along the roadsides of Olema- Bolinas Road directly to the north and south of and up Mesa road. This work would also include removal of the smaller, drought-stressed, beetle-stricken and obviously declining eucalyptus trees that comprise the stand within the larger trees from Mesa Road south toward Resource Recovery, including private properties to the north of Mesa road.

About 40,000 acres of blue gum eucalyptus were planted in California between 1856 and the 1930’s, with the best growth and survival occurring in the coastal fog belt.  Foggy weather and abundant groundwater have allowed them to escape from their original planting into wild and protected areas and have seriously altered landscapes and ecosystems. 

The hazard these roadside trees present is the direct result of the previous topping and trimming that has been performed over many decades by PG&E contractors. We now know that removal would have been the better option. We are presenting information about the current state of these trees to guide our future actions.

There are 71 very large roadside trees along both roads in this area. They are all next to or over high voltage power lines. In 1964, as recalled by Marin arborist Tom Kent, who worked for Sohner, many of the trees were cut down to tall stumps by the Sohner Tree Company. Sohner had the PG&E line-clearing contract for many years. It was during this period that the fate of these trees was determined. If a 150 foot tall eucalyptus tree is cut to a tall stump and then allowed to regain that same height in its regrowth, the result is a giant, structurally-compromised trees. A lot has been learned about the consequences of these actions. We should act now with that information in mind.

Beyond the structural issues that affect the main spars' attachment to the original stump, an ever-increasing amount of large dead wood high in the canopies also presents an ongoing danger. Any single piece of dead wood falling from that great height could easily penetrate a passing vehicle. This high incidence of dead wood is an indicator of overall poor health.

Regarding the several hundred interior smaller trees that make up the majority of the approximately 12 acres that is Zone 5, walking up the road from the Resource Recovery towards Mesa Road, all seems well. The smaller diameter trees on the southern or lower edge of the stand are in reasonably good health.

As you move further into the stand and up the hill, the health of the trees deteriorates rapidly. By the time you are halfway to Mesa road, you will see trees with less than half of what would be considered normal healthy vigor. In some cases entire tops are dead; in others, the ends of limbs are dead or dying. Clusters of new sucker growth below the dead tops or part way out a limb is a phenomenon that arborists call “retrenchment.”

Retrenchment is the tree’s way of recalibrating. Though not always an indication that the tree is soon going to die, it does mean that they are going through severe physiological changes. In this situation, it means that these trees are no longer safe over major thoroughfares, power lines, or walking paths.

We have established that the structural issues are the result of previous topping and trimming. Regarding the deteriorating health of the stand, most experts would agree that lack of water is the main culprit. The drought in the 1970’s  did not have a great negative impact. The trees were younger, and the stand had not been thinned for fire fuel reduction. The very thinning that was done to mitigate fire threat in 2014 may have compounded the stress effect of more recent droughts. This conclusion is based on the observation that none of the un-thinned stands of Eucalyptus in the Bolinas area are in this poor condition.

 It was first noticed that these trees were starting to look sick during the dry spell that ended with the near record rains of 2017.  Once the decline began, though, years with normal rainfall did not seem to have any noticeable positive affect on this stand of trees. The presence of the tortoise shell beetle is not helping matters either. These beetles do not kill the trees outright, but it would seem that the constant grazing and the energy spent replacing lost foliage over time is taking a toll on these drought-stressed trees.

Various parts of the stand have differing degrees of disease, but most of these trees have hit a tipping point from which they will not recover. They may limp along for quite some time, but they will never be safe or healthy. Since the Tasmanian blue gum is native to the other side of the planet, it may be that the lack of any evolutionary connection with California soils and mycorhizae could be adding to the trees' inability to cope with the lack of normal rainfall. 

Our next step is to engage the Bolinas community by inviting comments and input to our project. We can be emailed with questions or comments at info@BoEuc.org. Our website is bolinaseucalyptusproject.org.

We will hire a licensed forester to produce a survey and assessment of this entire stand.

To comply with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), we are hiring a biologist to perform an in-depth environmental impact study of the area. Close attention will be paid to the timing of the nesting and breeding of resident and migratory birds.

We will raise funds through the non-profit vehicle Bolinas Eucalyptus Project (BEP) and from a variety of sources.

The biggest impact will be traffic control. We should expect periodic delays off and on for a few months. There will be increased truck traffic, noise, and inconvenience similar to what we saw as part of the Highway One tree removal project. Years of neglect require some doing to fix. It will be a fascinating, worthwhile process.

Stumps will be cut low to the ground, to be followed by a stump grinder, which will pulverize these stumps into a beautiful mix of woody grindings and soil. This product will then be spread throughout the area, giving the landscape a golden layer of goodness that will be the foundation for our complex restoration plan. (Please see our “Restoration Outline for Zone 5”, with plant list, on this website).

There is some remaining native plant life in this stand of trees. To the degree that it is practical, these coast live oaks, coffeeberry, and toyon will be saved. This plan will be led and formulated by our talented native plant expert Judith Lowry.