Prune trees, shrubs, brush, and other vegetation to create horizontal spacing between individual plants or groups of plants as well as a vertical separation between understory and overstory vegetation. ● Spacing of trees ≤8” DBH to an average of 10-30’ (trunk spacing), depending on terrain. Spacing may be lower in some areas and higher in others based on where healthy and desirable trees are present. ● Prune tree branches up to 10-15' high or 50% crown on smaller trees ● Prioritize removal of hazardous vegetation and dead trees ≤8” DBH ● Hardwoods that re-sprout, including tanoak and live oaks, should not be removed except where absolutely necessary. Instead, prune hardwood clumps to 1-3 dominant stems. ● Cut all brush except when necessary for cut-bank stabilization. Where trees are sparse, dominant brush may be selected as “leave trees” and left as 5’x5’ patch or pruned to dominant stem(s) if possible. 5x5 foot clumps should have a minimum separation of 15’. ● Stumps from cut brush and trees cut flat and left no higher than 4” • Non-native species, such as but not limited to broom species, pampas grass, English ivy, holly, Himalayan blackberry, Tree of Heaven, and cotoneaster species, should not be retained unless requested by landowner. If they are too difficult to remove efficiently, they should be treated in a manner that reduces their potential for carrying fire from the ground up into the canopy. Broom species, holly, cotoneaster, and tree of heaven should be pulled by the roots if possible. Tree of Heaven and Broom species will not be chipped so as not to spread them to other areas. • Tree species preference most to least desirable o Hardwoods o Conifer species other than Douglas fir o Douglas fir
