Wildfire action plan unveiled in response to record-breaking fire season
onstate unveils new fire action plan
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Donors Worldwide Contribute $543,000 to Big Basin Redwoods State Park Recovery Following 2020 Wildfires
onSave the Redwoods League today announced the completion of the purchase of Cascade Creek, a 564-acre property between Big Basin Redwoods and Año Nuevo State Parks. The $9.6 million project — including both land acquisition, closing and initial stewardship costs — marks a keystone connection for protected habitat from the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. It also advances the League’s goal of protecting the last of the old-growth redwood forest as identified in their 2018Centennial Vision for Redwoods Conservation. While the entire Cascade Creek property experienced wildfire in August during the CZU Lightning Complex, the fire was a mix of low- to high-intensities, and the coast redwood and mixed conifer forest is already showing signs of recovery.
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Fire Recovery at the Core of New Parks Effort
onThe fire at Big Basin Redwoods State Park made headlines around the world, but it was far from the only redwood park to burn. Sadly, each of the parks forced to close by fire had only recently been reopened following the state’s COVID-19 stay-home order. Today, through our Redwood Parks Fund, Save the Redwoods League is prioritizing fire recovery and resilience, expanding access to redwood parks, and ensuring that the park experience engages diverse visitors looking to the redwoods for recreation and enrichment. The work funded by this campaign will help redefine how the public enjoys redwoods long into the future. The Redwood Parks Fund will address these impacts as a cornerstone of Forever Forest: The Campaign for the Redwoods, supporting the League’s vision to connect all people with the beauty and power of the redwoods through transformational park experiences. Our goal is to raise $1.5 million for the Redwood Parks Fund by December 31, 2020.
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After the fire: Big Basin Redwoods State Park
onIt’s been about three months since fire swept through Big Basin Redwoods State Park, and we thought we’d check in on this remarkable coast redwood forest. As we’ve discussed, most of the redwoods will be OK. In the video, you can see the famed Mother of the Forest Tree, charred but still living and surviving. In all, fascinating to see a resilient forest evolve.
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Soberanes Fire Burns in the Redwood Region
onAt the time of writing, the Soberanes Fire has burned over 60,000 acres in Monterey County and is about 45% contained. The fire area covers much of Garrapata State Park, a scenic and rugged redwoods park at the southern end of the coast redwood range. We don’t yet know whether, or to what extent, the park’s redwood groves are suffering damage; and while the primary concern is for the well-being of nearby human communities, it’s interesting to consider the implications of fires like this in the redwood forest.
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Re-Sprouting After Fire
onLast weekend, while I was hiking in the forests of Northern California with strong winds and thunder and lightning storms, I was reminded that we are entering fire season. While the thought of forest fires often stir fear in us … Continued
Ferns Flush First after Fire
onOn October 14th last year, a wildfire burned four acres of coast redwood forest at Roy’s Redwoods Preserve in Western Marin. Despite this fire blazing after many cumulative months of dry weather, fire fighters quickly contained the burn and only … Continued
Fierce Fires Pose Threats to Forests, Water
onIt’s fire season again. Last week, the local news reported on a 2,500-acre fire in Napa County, just east of the redwood range and Save the Redwoods League’s property near Bothe-Napa State Park. As I’ve mentioned before in previous blogs, … Continued
Harvesting Timber for Forest Protection
onThere is a sad paradox to much of my work as a forester. I became a forester because I love the forest, yet much of my work requires me to kill trees. No matter what the larger goal is for … Continued
Protecting Our Land Through Restoration
onDuring my annual monitoring visit to one of our lands, I noticed thick brush growing up around the redwood forest. Something would need to be done about it! California’s drought has brought dry conditions that create an increased chance for … Continued
Burning Cape Vizcaino
onThe view from the picnic table was grand to be sure, the blue infinities of sea and sky meeting where the distant fog gathered offshore (and coastal fog, when you think about it, really is the perfect blend of the … Continued
Native American Use of Fire
onIn discussing fire, it is important to think about who managed the forests before us, and how that has influenced what the forests look like today. Many different Native American groups lived throughout the redwood region, each utilizing the natural … Continued
One Way to Manage and Protect a Forest: Burn It
onLately we have been thinking a lot about fire. It is fire season in California and sadly huge fires in the west are making headlines with their destructive activity. So, we’ve been discussing ways to decrease these devastating forest fires. … Continued
Setting Fire to the Forest
onWe’ll do all the law’s allowin’/Tomorrow I’ll be right back plowin’/ settin’ the woods on fire —Hank Williams In a recent post, I discussed the role of natural disturbance in creating the forests we see today. This week, I’d like … Continued
Old-Growth Redwood Burns in Arcata
on“Transient Camp Causes Fire in Old-Growth Redwood Tree,” reads the headline posted by the City of Arcata at www.arcataeye.com. The fire did not damage just any old redwood. It burned (and is apparently still burning) in ‘Treebeard,’ a redwood estimated … Continued
25 Years of Controversy amid the Monarchs
onI just got back from a trip to see the cinnamon-colored giants of Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest in the southern Sierra. It was a real treat to explore a giant sequoia grove for the first time, especially when accompanied … Continued