CALIFORNIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND PUBLIC SAFETY IN THE URBAN/WILDLAND INTERFACE

During the 1960s and 1970s California’s citizens became increasingly aware of, and concerned with, environmental issues in the state. As a result, a number of new state laws were enacted, the most notable being the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) of 1970. In response to the new environmental awareness and associated state and Federal laws, the California Geological Survey (CGS) began to place more emphasis on understanding human interactions with natural geologic conditions and the resulting effects on the environment. This environmental geology emphasis has resulted in new and innovative approaches to assess landslide hazards, soil erosion, and the interaction of land management on the natural environment. Additionally, CGS works cooperatively with other state and Federal agencies and the private sector to develop mitigation measures designed to protect public safety while limiting potential negative environmental effects of all aspects of land management, including urban encroachment into wildland settings.

Today CGS’s Forest and Watershed Geology group uses traditional field based geologic mapping and engineering geologic analysis, coupled with innovative remote sensing, modeling, and GIS analysis, to provide site specific and regional-scale maps, studies and reports which indentify geologic conditions that may contribute to environmental degradation and public safety hazards in the wildland and urban/wildland interface. Much of this work is provided as technical input and advice to state, local, and Federal agencies charged with managing and protecting California’s lands, as well as protecting public safety in California’s wildlands and along the urban/wildland interface. CGS input and advice includes: mapping of landslides in California’s forested terrains; developing landslide hazard potential maps; assessing post wildland fire geologic hazards such as post fire debris flow potential; assessing and developing mitigation measures to limit erosion from unpaved roads and trails; reviewing timber harvesting plans to assess their potential to cause landslides and erosion; conducting fluvial geomorphic analysis to assess and mitigate excessive erosion and sedimentation; and developing methodologies to assess the potential for debris flows and flooding on alluvial fans.