Impacts of Mosquito Fire On Actively Managed Blodgett Forest
Impacts of Mosquito Fire On Actively Managed Blodgett Forest
Previous management history makes an acute difference in the resiliency of forests to wildfire. Active management, including prescribed fire and group selection silviculture, significantly altered the behavior of the Mosquito Fire at UC Berkeley’s Blodgett Forest.
Governor Newsom Signs State Budget Bill
Governor Newsom Signs State Budget Bill
Governor Newsom signed a budget bill this week that provides more than $1.3 billion over the next two years to accelerate forest health and wildfire resilience projects throughout the state. With these new investments, the Newsom Administration has committed more than $2.8 billion to the Governor’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan.
Highlights of theWildfire and Forest Resilience Expenditure Plan include:
- $472 million for forest health and fire prevention grants
- $130 million for stewardship of state-owned land
- $50 million for post-fire reforestation
- $170 million to state conservancies for forest health projects
- $70 million for prescribed fire and hand crews
- $40 million for the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity (RFFC) Program
- $30 million for workforce development
- $25 million for assistance to small landowners
RESOURCES
CAL FIRE Announces New Vision for The Jackson Demonstration State Forest
CAL FIRE Announces New Vision for The Jackson Demonstration State Forest
Based on discussions with tribal governments and key stakeholders, the new vision will inform an update to the Jackson Management Plan with a renewed focus on climate science, restoration ecology and a new model for tribal co-management. CAL FIRE also announced that timber harvest will resume with a focus on small trees, removing slash piles, permanently protecting large trees, and enhancing protection of culturally sensitive sites.
California Demonstration State Forest System Adds 2,500 Acres to Statewide Total For Research, Restoration and Conservation
California Demonstration State Forest System Adds 2,500 Acres to Statewide Total For Research, Restoration and Conservation
CAL FIRE acquired two properties through donation from PG&E including 2,246 acres along South Cow Creek in Shasta County and 267 acres in the headwaters of the Bear River in Nevada and Placer counties. These properties increase the diversity of forest types under CAL FIRE’s stewardship and create new opportunities for research and demonstration of sustainable forestry techniques. CAL FIRE will work collaboratively and closely with the Shasta Land Trust and Bear Yuba Land Trust who hold the conservation easements on these properties to ensure that the scenic, open space, forest, wildlife habitat, recreation, and historic and cultural values are protected forever. The properties will be stewarded for these multiple uses under a Forest Management Plan to be approved by the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The acquisitions bring the total acreage of California’s demonstration state forest system to over 84,000 acres statewide.
RESOURCES
Demonstration State Forests
Shasta Land Trust
Bear Yuba Land Trust
CARCD Distributes USFS Post‐Fire Disaster Recovery Grant Funds
CARCD Distributes USFS Post‐Fire Disaster Recovery Grant Funds
With funding from a $3 million Post‐Fire Disaster Recovery Agreement from the USFS the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (CARCD) awarded six resource conservation districts (RCDs) grants for forest post‐fire recovery work within the footprints of 2019‐2021 wildfires. All the funded projects resemble or are building towards establishing Emergency Forest Restoration Teams (EFRTs), as per Action Item 1.14 of the CA Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan.
RESOURCES
Sequoia National Forest Makes Progress on Giant Sequoia Emergency Response
Sequoia National Forest Makes Progress on Giant Sequoia Emergency Response
The Sequoia National Forest made tremendous progress toward achieving the Giant Sequoia Emergency Response goals. To date, 345 monarch Giant Sequoias have been protected in 6 groves covering 43 acres, and that number is growing daily!
Fuels reduction treatments are being completed in phases, starting with hazard tree abatement to facilitate safe access for crews working in the groves, then hand treatments to remove ladder fuels and duff from around monarch Giant Sequoias. Implementation is underway in six of the 12 groves: Bearskin, Black Mountain, Indian Basin, Landslide, Wishon, and the Sierra National Forest Nelder grove.
RESOURCES
SNC Infographic Portrays Life of a Forest Resilience Project
SNC Infographic Portrays Life of a Forest Resilience Project
Forest restoration and wildfire risk reduction projects are complex, involving many steps and moving parts that determine whether a project will succeed and how long it will take. This infographic takes a peek under the hood of forest restoration projects to lay out each of the steps necessary to get a project on the ground and through completion.
Wildfire-Safety Work Completed in South Fork Mokelumne Watershed
Wildfire-Safety Work Completed in South Fork Mokelumne Watershed
One year after the 2015 Butte Fire destroyed nearly 500 residences nearby, CAL FIRE identified the South Fork Mokelumne River watershed as a top priority for fuels reduction in order to protect communities from future wildfires. With the recent completion of the South Fork Mokelumne River Watershed Restoration Project Phase 3, many of those wildfire worries have, fortunately, been doused.
Funded by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) in 2019, Phase 3 removed small-diameter trees and ladder fuels on 285 acres of dense, pine-plantation forests managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), completing the project’s goal of restoring roughly 500 acres of forest. Considering the project area borders many neighborhoods and is surrounded by nearby towns, such as Glencoe, Sandy Gulch, Rail Road Flat, and Wilseyville, this strategic work should greatly reduce the threat of wildfire for thousands of Calaveras County residents.
Post Fire Restoration Symposium
Post Fire Restoration Symposium
This virtual symposium focused on how monitoring and research in the southern Sierra Nevada can support post fire restoration planning and help to inform adaptive management. Topics included treatment effects on wildlife, variable density treatments in plantations, hardwood management, aquatics and meadow restoration. Panel discussions provided the opportunity for collaboration on the implications of the work and how to apply this knowledge to future post fire management. The virtual symposium was held and recorded on July 14, 2022.
Presented by: USDA Forest Service Ecology Program, ACCG, SOFAR, and hosted by the California Fire Science Consortium
California Air Resources Board Releases California Smoke Spotter 2.0
California Air Resources Board Releases California Smoke Spotter 2.0
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has released a major update to its California Smoke Spotter mobile app to help users protect themselves from smoke during wildfire season. New features of the app include wildfire information and alerts, a 24-hour wildfire smoke forecast, and Air Quality Index (AQI) data from PurpleAir sensors to provide users with real-time smoke conditions (in addition to AQI data from permanent and temporary air monitors).
California Smoke Spotter 2.0 still contains its original features including prescribed fire details, alerts and smoke forecasts, as well as information on how users can protect themselves from smoke. It’s available to download on the App Store and Google Play.
This achievement contributes to the Task Force’s broader goal of strengthening the protection of communities, and more specific aim to reduce the health impacts of smoke.