Recap of The Central Coast Regional Meeting
CENTRAL COAST REGIONAL MEETING RECAP
May 11, 2023
Over 300 people came together in Santa Cruz (with over 200 joining online) for the regional meeting of the California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force focused on the Central Coast region and ongoing efforts to create more resilient communities and landscapes in the face of wildfires and climate change. The meeting brought together a wide range of experts and agency partners for updates and in-depth panel discussions on the State’s progress on wildfire and forest resilience. Hosted by the California State Coastal Conservancy and San Mateo Resource Conservation District, discussions focused on the unique landscapes and land management issues of California’s Central Coast, with updates and panel discussions about real progress being made on the ground, and opportunities to network with partners from around the state.
If you couldn’t make it in person, or missed the real-time webinar, video recordings are available below.
REGIONAL MEETING AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS
- Director’s Report: Director Wright provided an update on the status of the 99 key actions outlined in the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, outlined the Task Force’s mulita-pronged “Roadmap to Resilience,” and highlighted Task Force partners’ achievements on the Central Coast.
- The Central Coast Mosaic: A panel of experts discussed the Central Coast’s unique ecosystems, safeguarding communities in the WUI, and indigenous land use practices of tribal communities in the region. The Task Force Interagency Science Team then introduced the new data tools for practitioners available in the Task Force’s Regional Resource Kits.
- From Local Collaboration to Regional Action: Two panels of regional leaders discussed 1) the value of collaborative efforts for delivering on Central Coast resource priorities and, 2) how project implementors are navigating complex regulatory requirements.
- Moving Towards A Regional Investment Strategy: A panel of Task Force partners discussed the challenges and opportunities for state-wide funding programs to align programmatically to support locally identified regional priorities.
- Keynote address by Senator John Laird: Senator Laird (CA-17) is a champion of natural resources and authored SB 456 which codified the CA Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force. Among his accomplishments, Laird served as Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency under Governor Jerry Brown (2011-2019) and two-term mayor of Santa Cruz. In his keynote, Senator Laird reflected on the Central Coast as “ground-zero” in recent times for the effects of climate change.
Welcome
• Amy Hutzel, CA Coastal Conservancy
Opening Remarks
• Wade Crowfoot, CNRA
• Jennifer Eberlien, USFS
• Valentin Lopez, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band
• Task Force Executive Committee
Director’s Report
Director’s Report
• Patrick Wright
The Central Coast Mosaic
The Central Coast Mosaic
• Moderator: Steven Ostoja, USDA California Climate Hub
• Virginio Matzek, Santa Clara University
• Chris Dicus, Cal Poly SLO
• Peter Nelson, UC Berkeley
• Peter Stine, Climate & Wildfire Institute
From Local Collaboration to Regional Action
From Local Collaboration to Regional Action
• Moderator: Kellyx Nelson, San Mateo RCD
• Anne Crealock, Marin Wildfire Prev. Authority
• Dylan Skybrook, Santa Cruz Stewardship Network
• Devii Rao, UC ANR
• Steve Auten, Auten Resource Consulting
• Madeline Cavalieri, CA Coastal Commission
• Len Nielson, CAL FIRE
• Paul Hann, State Water Board
Moving Towards a Regional Investment Strategy
Moving Towards a Regional Investment Strategy
• Moderator: Lisa Lurie, Santa Cruz RCD
• Valentin Lopez, Amah Mutsun Land Trust
• Brian Newman-Lindsay, DOC
• Robin Bellows, CAL FIRE
• Chris Zimny, NRCS
• Sherry Hazelhurst, USFS
Keynote Presentation
• Senator John Laird, CA 19th District
Closing Remarks
• Task Force Co-Chairs
Central Coast Regional Meeting
Central Coast Regional Meeting
Join us in person at The Cocoanut Grove on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk or remotely via Zoom. Hosted by the California State Coastal Conservancy and San Mateo Resource Conservation District, discussions will focus on the unique landscapes and land management issues of California’s Central Coast. The meeting will open with a Resource Fair to showcase local organizations at work in the Central Coast region. Field tours will be offered on May 12. We look forward to connecting, committing to action, and collaborating on real solutions to the daunting challenges facing our landscapes and communities.
MAY 11 & 12
The Cocoanut Grove
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
400 Beach Street
Santa Cruz, CA
Event schedule - May 11
8:30-10:00 a.m. Resource Fair
10 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Morning Session
12:15-1:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30-4:30 p.m. Afternoon Session
4:30-6:00 p.m. Reception
Free parking available in the main parking lot. Keep your ticket for validation.
field tours
FIELD TOURS WILL BE OFFERED ON MAY 12th
San Vicente Redwoods: Demonstrating Compatibility of Forest Resiliency and Public Access
Destination: San Vicente Redwoods, a privately held property demonstrating the compatibility of forest resiliency, conservation, sustainable timber harvest, and public access. This unique property is managed by a collective of four land trusts: Peninsula Open Space Trust, Sempervirens Fund, Save the Redwoods League, and the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County. All of this nearly 9,000-acre site burned in the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire. On this field trip, we’ll see the efficacy of a prescribed burn conducted just months before the 2020 wildfire and we’ll visit a temporary biomass processing site and discuss the opportunities and challenges of processing forest residue onsite. Pending weather and site conditions, we hope to demonstrate the use of air curtain burners, a carbonator, and a pile burn side by side. After the 9 am – 11 am tour, stay for a networking lunch hour (cold drinks and light snacks provided) with attendees of the Together Bay Area Conference Field trip participants are encouraged to also attend the subsequent 12-2 p.m. field trip with Together Bay Area.
Start/End Time: 9am – 11pm (with option to 2pm)
Location: VIEW MAP >
Accessibility: Small section that meets outdoor accessibility guidelines, majority of tour along moderate difficulty trails.
Fall Creek Truck Trail Forest Health Project: Ladder Fuels Reduction Promotes Biodiversity and Resilience
Destination: Fall Creek Unit of Henry Cowell State Park, the focus of a 62-acre CAL FIRE Forest Health project. This primarily second-growth redwood and mixed conifer forest was nearly all burned at low to moderate severity during the 2020 CZU Fire and was used heavily by fire personnel during the event. The Forest Health project includes removal of dense ladder fuels and dead trees with the goal of lowering stand density and promoting greater biodiversity and resilience. This project showcases a great partnership between the RCD of Santa Cruz County, California State Parks and CAL FIRE.
Start/End Time: 2pm – 4:30pm
Location: VIEW MAP > Meet at Trininty Bible parking lot at the bottom of El Solyo Heights Road in Felton (7301 Hwy 9, Felton, CA 95018)
Accessibility: No ADA access or restrooms. Personal protective equipment may be required.
Quarry Park Fuel Reduction/Community Protection: Community Engagement and Protection in the WUI
Destination: Quarry Park, just north of Half Moon Bay, is a focal point of significant community interest regarding management of fuel loads, particularly eucalyptus, in the Wildland Urban Interface. Learn how San Mateo Resource Conservation District and partners, including county parks and local fire agencies, brought fire science and deep listening to community engagement. We will tour a shaded fuel break project on site while discussing how projects are informed by fire modeling and permit strategies, and how biomass management and winter storm response affect their implementation.
Start/End Time: 10am – 12pm
Location: VIEW MAP >
Accessibility: Walking tour. Personal protective equipment may be required. Limited parking, please carpool.
Forest Health Work in the Butano Watershed: Envisioning Forest Health as a Process, Not a Project, in the Pescadero-Butano Watershed
Destination: The State’s first completed California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) project, also the first project approved by the California Coastal Commission to use a Public Works Plan as a novel approach to permitting in the Coastal Zone. We will visit two sites in southern San Mateo County impacted by the August 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fires: Butano State Park and Girl Scouts of Northern California’s Camp Butano. Over 2,100 acres will be treated to improve the health and resilience of the forest. Discussion will include recovery from fire, prescribed burns and fuels treatments, and permitting for long-term management.
Start/End Time: 10am – 2pm
Location: VIEW MAP >
Accessibility: Two vehicle stops with short walking tour from each.
Big Basin State Park Post-Fire Recovery: Reimagining Big Basin
Destination: The headquarters area of Big Basin State Park. The tour will highlight the recovery efforts that have been made to reopen the park following the CZU Lightning Complex incident. We will also be discussing the “Reimagining Big Basin” process that seeks to create a more equitable and resilient park. The tour will include a short walk-through old growth redwood forest that experienced high severity fire and give participants an opportunity to discuss State Park’s development of a forest management strategy for Big Basin and its neighboring parks.
Start/End Time: 9am – 12pm
Location: VIEW MAP >
Accessibility: Short walk through old growth redwood on accessible path.
Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority: Efforts of the Only Publicly Funded Wildfire Prevention Authority in the U.S.
Destination: Showcased projects of the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA), the only publicly funded wildfire prevention authority in the U.S. The tour will highlight local collaborative programs led by MWPA including vegetation management, a countywide chipper program, defensible space evaluations/creation, evacuation planning, and route clearing. We will discuss the MWPA’s use of and reliance and the CalVTP and MWPA’s support of the recently launched Fire Foundry Program, an innovative workforce development program aimed at achieving equity in the fire and civic service and providing pathways to sustainable wage careers. Participants will meet at the MWPA office in San Rafael, the MWPA will provide vans to shuttle participants to each tour site.
Start/End Time: 11am – 3pm
Location: VIEW MAP >
MWPA Office: 1600 Los Gamos Drive, Suite 345, San Rafael
Accessibility: Some walking on uneven unpaved paths/trails; parts are fully accessible. Driving tour to sites with short walks at each.
Webster Project – San Luis Obispo County: a CAL FIRE Governor’s Priority Project
Destination: “The Webster Project” – one of CAL FIRE’s 2019 Governor’s priority projects – covering 1,200 acres of chapparal habitat in rural north county San Luis Obispo. The goal of this project was to reduce hazard fuel loading and mimic natural fire using prescribed fire. The tour will highlight the treatment of crushing chamise brush followed with prescribed fire to consume 10-hour dead fuels. Treatments are aimed at creating a diversity of resilient vegetation types while creating a safety zone and anchor point for firefighting efforts in the event of a wildfire.
Start/End Time: 1pm – 3pm
Location: VIEW MAP >
Accessibility: Will Meet at CAL FIRE Creston Fire Station, load into van, drive to project site- 15 minutes. Mostly driving tour with small walk out to burn units (100 feet from vehicle), No ADA.
Santa Lucia Conservancy: Balancing the Protection of Life, Property, and Biodiversity with Long-term Ecosystem Resilience
Destination: The Santa Lucia Preserve. The Santa Lucia Conservancy’s vision for fire and fuels management on The Preserve is one that harmoniously balances the protection of life, property, and biodiversity with long-term ecosystem resilience. This strategy includes shaded fuel breaks, prescribed burns, conservation grazing, invasive plant removal, a Preserve-wide fuel management plan, and lot-specific fuel management plans for individual homeowners. Join the Santa Lucia Conservancy and collaborating partners for a driving tour of The Preserve to learn more about how we collaborate with fire agencies, land management organizations, landowners, and our neighbors to implement these fire safety tools.
Start/End Time: 9am – 12:30pm
Location: VIEW MAP >
Accessibility: This is a driving tour.
Swanton Pacific Ranch and Big Creek Lumber Sawmill: Witnessing and Learning From the Effects of the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex
Destination: Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch. The tour will focus on post fire redwood and Douglas fir forest management and restoration funded by CAL FIRE Forest Health program and guided by the property’s long term Non-Industrial Timber Management Plan. In August 2020, the CZU Lightning Complex Fire impacted Cal Poly’s School Forest, which has long been a hub of student learning, research, and demonstration of sustainable timber management practices. The fire, along with CAL FIRE’s funding support, has presented us with some unique opportunities to demonstrate fuels reduction and restoration and ways to experiment with preparing the forest for the predicted consequences of climate change. We are also experimenting with various methods of biomass removal, replanting, and redwood canopy retention while training a workforce on methods to increase the pace and scale of fuels management and vegetation treatment. Break for lunch, and then reconvene down the road for a tour of the Big Creek Lumber Sawmill. We’ll see the mill in operation and discuss the effects of fire on merchantable timber, as well as the effects of the CZU fire on Big Creek property, and the recovery work they are doing post-fire.
Start/End Time: 10am – 2pm
Location: VIEW MAP >
Accessibility: Attendees will meet at a central location and carpool to tour location a short drive away.
Glenwood Open Space Preserve: demonstrating multiple benefits of a conservation grazing program
Destination: Glenwood Open Space Preserve. Join the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County for a tour of this beautiful preserve in Scotts Valley, just a few minutes off of Highway 17 on the way out of Santa Cruz. The Glenwood Open Space Preserve is home to a high number of rare and endangered species, including the Ohlone tiger beetle, Opler’s longhorn moth, and the Scotts Valley spineflower. This tour will show off the beautiful spring wildflowers in bloom and highlight how we manage fuels along the wildland-urban interface while preserving the endangered species through conservation grazing, among other methods.
Start/End Time: 1pm – 3pm
Location: VIEW MAP >
Recommended Accommodations
Southern California Regional Meeting
Southern California Regional Meeting
The Southern California Regional Meeting will be held in person in Calabasas, with a LiveStream option for remote attendance. Hosted by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) and Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), discussions will focus on Southern California, with updates and panel discussions about real progress being made on the ground, and opportunities to network with partners from around the state. We look forward to connecting, committing to action, and collaborating on real solutions to the daunting challenges facing our landscapes and communities. The meeting will open with a Resource Fair to showcase local organizations at work in Southern California. Field tours will be offered on February 3. See below for tour details and registration.
FEBRUARY 2 & 3
King Gillette Ranch
26800 Mulholland Hwy
Calabasas, CA
Event schedule
8:30-10:00 a.m. Resource Fair
10 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Morning Session
12:15-1:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30-3:15 p.m. Afternoon Session
3:30-4:30 p.m. Small Group Discussions
4:30 p.m. Reception
field tours
FIELD TOURS WILL BE OFFERED ON FEBRUARY 3RD
Planting a Legacy: FULL
Creating an Ember Screen Along a Historic Wildfire Corridor
Description: Tour the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority’s (MRCA) freeway-adjacent-focused vegetation management effort within the historic wildfire corridor along a four-mile section of the 101 freeway where wildfires jump the freeway into the Santa Monica Mountains. The project consists of planting coast live oak ember barriers, a suburban interface with over 1,500 planted mitigation trees with the help of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps and the San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps. You will also have an opportunity to see progress on the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing at Liberty Canyon, which will be the largest wildlife crossing in the world. The tour will involve driving to several sites and standing and walking for short periods of time on uneven terrain.
Location: Calabasas
Start/End Time: 9:30am – 12:30pm
Partnerships in the Santa Monica Mountains: FULL
Wildfire Prevention, Response, and Resilience
Description: This event will provide an opportunity to tour the shrublands of the Santa Monica Mountains and learn about the unique wind-driven wildfire behavior that has shaped partnerships among wildfire practitioners and land managers with federal, state, and local agency perspectives. The tour will feature the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) Fire Division Headquarters and a key Los Angeles County Fire Department wildfire response facility which features a sustainable habitat-focused defensible space project. The tour will include discussion among contiguous land managers including National Park Service, California Department of Parks and Recreation, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and the MRCA who maintain a Cooperative Management Agreement of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The tour will involve driving to several sites and standing on uneven terrain.
Location: Calabasas
Start/End Time: 9:00am – 1:00pm
Community Hardening and Resilience in the Santa Monica Mountains
Description: This tour consists of visiting a home hardening demonstration structure that gives homeowners the opportunity to see best management practices for hardening their structures against wildfires particularly in wind-driven wildfires where embers can progress miles ahead of an active fire and create new ignitions – the project is in partnership with Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Resource Conservation District of Santa Monica Mountains. You will have an opportunity to learn more about the tools and programs being developed to educate and engage with communities and meet with a local community in Oak Park that has organized to create a local Fire Safe Council. The tour will involve driving to several sites and standing on uneven terrain.
Location: Agoura Hills (10 minutes from Calabasas)
Start/End Time: 9:00am – 12:00pm
Reducing Wildfire Risks on our Landscapes and in Communities:
Ventura County Invasive Fuels Management and Home Hardening Projects
Description: This tour will discuss the different wildfire efforts in Ventura County, both on the landscape and within communities, to address wildfire risk. The tour consists of visiting the Arroyo Conejo Invasive Plant Management Project and meeting with a local community that has recently organized to create a Fire Safe Council to discuss how they are working with local organizations to engage with their community to advance home hardening practices. The tour will include COSCA, Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council, the Ventura County Resource Conservation District, Oak Park Fire Safe Council, and Ventura County Prescribed Burn Association. The tour will involve driving to several sites and standing on uneven terrain.
Location: Oak Park (20 minutes from Calabasas)
Start/End Time: 9:00am – 12:00pm
Northeast Los Angeles Canyons and Hilltops:
Community Wildfire Resilience through Restoration, Local Engagement, and Workforce Development
Description: Wildfire resilience efforts in Los Angeles are complex and most resources focus on the large mountain ranges that surround the developed valleys and basins, such as the Angeles National Forest and the Santa Monica Mountains; however, there is another vulnerable landscape type: urban islands of open space. These smaller open space areas typically include undeveloped canyons and hilltops and are often owned by local agencies, non-profits, private parties, or a combination of these. These open space islands are surrounded by some of the most densely populated communities in California and are highly utilized as spaces of refuge and recreation for residents of Los Angeles. Although they differ in size from the large State and Federal landholdings in the mountains, these smaller islands of open space are also vulnerable to wildfires. The potential impact of a wildfire in any of these islands would be devastating to the surrounding communities, which lack the resources of more affluent areas. On this tour, we will discuss various wildfire efforts occurring in Northeast Los Angeles led by local non-profits, including organizations like North East Trees, who are working to deplete an invasive seed bank of flammable flashy fuels and restoring native habitat, and Community Nature Connection, who is establishing a nursery to supply local restoration projects. They will discuss their unique projects and community engagement efforts. An important component of these efforts is training to create a sustainable green workforce who can steward future wildfire resilience projects to combat climate change and progressively more destructive fires. On this tour, we will also hear from organizations working on wildfire efforts in similar landscapes across the metro area, such as a new Tribal Conservation Corps for Los Angeles and Outward Bound Adventures, an organization dedicated to outdoor education for BIPOC youth for over 60 years. This tour will be an opportunity to hear the perspective of several local organizations as they share their unique wildfire perspectives, goals, and priorities, engage with local communities, and increase conservation employment opportunities.
Location: Northeast Los Angeles (1 hour from Calabasas)
Start/End Time: 9:00am – 12:00pm
Eastern Angeles National Forest Tour:
Description: This tour will begin in Wrightwood to discuss the recent Sheep Fire’s progression and impacts to the community including the role of climate change and weather and their impacts to communities and resources including desert transition vegetative communities such as Joshua Trees. The tour will discuss fire history of the area, the role that fuel treatments played in the Blue Cut Fire and Sheep Fire, and restoration potential. Next, the tour will take a look at Big Pines Highway, ongoing fuels treatment implementation, and a three-way partnership with the Forest Service, National Forest Foundation, and the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy. The tour will conclude at Big Rock Creek road which demonstrates the impacts of the Bobcat Fire. Here we will discuss the bigcone Douglas-fir endemic in Southern California as well as restoration in the face of climate change. Please note that this tour will take place in the eastern Angeles National Forest; it is recommended that participants traveling for the event fly out of Ontario Airport after the tour. Guests may also elect to spend the previous night in the Ontario area to assist with travel time to the tour in the morning. The tour will involve driving to several sites and standing on uneven terrain. Participants are advised to bring their own lunch, wear warm clothes, and wear sunscreen.
Location: Wrightwood (2.5 hours from Calabasas)
Start/End Time: 9:00am – 2:30pm
Angeles National Forest:
Mt. Wilson and Chilao Tour
Description: This tour will visit two sites on the Angeles National Forest that have been threatened by large wildfires, including Mt. Wilson and the Chilao area. The southern California Mediterranean climate has always been subject to large wildfires due to the flammable shrub vegetation and Santa Ana wind patterns. Values at risk and other tree form vegetation types are equally threatened and at risk from climate change, past fire suppression, and high frequency of human caused ignitions. On this tour we will visit Mt. Wilson which hosts numerous stakeholders such as the communications site which serve the Los Angeles basin for emergency, utility, and media services. The tour includes a visit to the Mt. Wilson Observatory which maintains operational telescopes while preserving its legacy of historic contributions to astronomy. Mt. Wilson and the stakeholders’ interests have survived the Station and Bobcat Fires and a lesser known Wilson Fire. We will look at the site’s proximity to Los Angeles and the urban interface and fuel treatments that were initiated 10 years ago. There will be a representative from the Mt. Wilson Observatory to discuss stakeholder interests and actions within the framework of living with wildfire. The second leg of the tour will explore Chilao – a popular area for recreation within one of the few areas of the national forest that is a forested east side pine stand. The Chilao area has also been subject to both the Station and Bobcat Fires and represents a remote forest health stand, highly susceptible to wildfire due to adjacency to flammable chaparral. We will look at different fuel and vegetation treatments including mechanical and prescribed fire. Participants are advised to bring their own lunch. The tour will involve standing on unpaved surfaces.
Location: Angeles National Forest (2 hours from Calabasas)
Start/End Time: 9:30am – 2:00pm
Angeles National Forest – Green Valley Tour:
Forest Health in the Face of an Invasive Pest
Description: This tour of Green Valley will highlight the challenges posed by the goldspotted oak borer (GSOB) which was discovered in Green Valley in 2015, 162 miles from the known initial introduction point in San Diego County. We will discuss how public agencies are coordinating with private landowners, bordering National Forest land, as they remove or treat trees affected by GSOB. Participants are advised to bring their own lunch and wear warm clothes. The tour will involve walking on unpaved surfaces.
Location: Green Valley (2 hours from Calabasas)
Start/End Time: 9:30am – 2:30pm
We are encouraging all meeting
attendees to pre-purchase lunch.
Same day purchases will be limited.
hotel information** Discounted rates available while room blocks last, thru January 15th **
La Quinta
by Wyndham Thousand Oaks
1320 Newbury Rd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
To receive the Task Force
discounted rate,
please call the hotel at
805-499-5910
and use code CG2223
Administration Announces Plans for Reforestation, Climate Adaptation
Biden-Harris Administration Announces Plans for Reforestation, Climate Adaptation, including New Resources from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
On July 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service announced a nationwide strategy that will address a reforestation backlog of four million acres on national forests and plant more than one billion trees over the next decade. According to USFS Chief Randy Moore, the reforestation strategy will serve as a framework to understand reforestation needs, develop shared priorities with partners, expand reforestation and nursery capacity, and ensure the trees planted grow to support healthy, resilient forests. In addition to the reforestation strategy, Secretary Vilsack announced 13 new USDA agency climate adaptation plans, which outline how each USDA agency will incorporate climate change into their operations and decisions to support communities, agriculture and forests nationwide.
RESOURCES