- Author: John T Bailey
The University of California Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC) is working in partnership with CAL FIRE to implement a 10-year Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) of annual prescribed burns for fuel reduction, public safety, ecosystem health, research and education.
To reduce wildfire fuel, CAL FIRE is planning to use “good fire” to burn two separate units at HREC the week of October 28th, pending favorable weather conditions that allow for a high level of smoke lift and winds that push the smoke into the Mayacamas Mountains.
The two units are each about 60 acres and are subdivided into smaller sections with internal control lines, allowing for a staged burn process. One of the units is primarily grassland and supports a long-term research project looking at the effects on rangeland of grazing with both sheep and cattle in the presence and absence of prescribed fire. The second unit is a mixture of oak savannah and grassland, the burning of which will reduce fire fuels around our headquarters and create a pyro-diverse landscape for various research projects on wildlife ecology and oak woodland management.
Staff at HREC and our UC Cooperative Extension Advisors have been communicating with the winegrowers in our region to time these burns after the vast majority, if not Hopland Research & Extension Center all, grapes in our area are harvested. We are taking all possible steps to greatly reduce any potential for inducing smoke taint in the grapes while still conducting burn at a time of year that is viable.
We have been contacting local growers and related organizations to ensure their crops are harvested before CAL FIRE burns. In addition, we will be working with CAL FIRE to review their spot weather forecast, which will give us the information needed to guide us in deciding whether to burn on the planned days. The complexity of coordinating enough CAL FIRE crews and equipment to keep the fire within the extensive network of control lines creates a challenge in changing plans at the last minute so we will be looking at the forecasts three days and one day prior to the burns. We may move the burn date if weather conditions are not within the prescription.
In addition, HREC staff will be making calls to neighbors to let them know about the planned burns and have invited both winegrowers and the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians to attend the burn and learn more about the process and planning involved.
We greatly appreciate and value both our winegrowing community and CAL FIRE for the work they do to create a vibrant local economy and ensure that we manage our landscape through the use of prescribed fire to reduce the risk of future catastrophic wildfires and the negative impacts they create.
- Author: Brodriguezmeza@ucanr.edu
Here's a link to it!
https://archive.org/details/the-seeds-of-vandana-shiva-2021-720x-480-16x-9
- Author: Maggie Swanson
My name is Maggie (she/her), HREC's newest GrizzlyCorps fellow, alongside Brenda. Under the mentorship of Hannah Bird and John Bailey, I will be supporting the REC in land management projects and youth education programs.
I hail from Milton, Massachusetts, a town just south of Boston. I lived in New England through my early twenties, graduating from Middlebury College in Vermont in February, 2023 with a degree in Conservation Biology and minor in Computer Science. I spent the summers tending a local organic farm; monitoring endangered shore birds; and diving for coral reef research in the Caribbean in an effort to immersively understand our planet's varied ecosystems. After graduation, I forged my way West and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail to witness our changing climate in a region defined by a scarred biosphere. I encountered unprecedented snowfall, heatwaves, and wildfire across the 2,650-mile trail which cemented an interest in working toward rural climate resiliency in California. Last spring, I returned to Marin County and studied Spotted Owls with Point Blue Conservation Science and am filled with gratitude to be back working in and among Hopland's beautiful oak woodlands here at HREC.
I am most excited to work alongside life-long learners: preschoolers bottle-feeding lambs for the first time; post-docs investigating biological and ecological data years in the making; and tribal leaders who have stewarded this land since time immemorial. Cheers to embarking on a new service year!
- Author: Lily Elola
At the onset of my fellowship I was nervous about spending too much time alone. Living by myself in a cottage on a ~5,500 acre remote research site stood in stark contrast to my urban upbringing in the East Bay Area. Despite the appealing prospect of a change in scenery, worries about the unintended consequences of prolonged isolation lingered. It was amidst this uncertainty that I stumbled upon an unexpectedly reliable companion— birds.
I can't say I ever paid much attention to birds before last year. I deemed their presence unimportant and their noises (at times) annoying. Admittedly, my knowledge of birds stopped at pigeons, crows, and seagulls. Like many, I dismissed birds as insignificant animals in the grand scheme of an often stressful human life. Their reality felt distinctly separate from mine.
My perception of birds underwent a remarkable shift during my first morning in the cottage. Naively, I anticipated the hardest adjustment to living alone in the woods would be the deafening silence. Imagine my surprise, then, when I was jolted awake at 5 a.m. by a loud knocking. My dog, equally startled, leapt to his feet and started barking at the front door.
I quickly threw on my robe and peered through the front door window. There, perched on the white siding of the cottage, was a small woodpecker with a striking red cap. The sheer sound of the bird's hammering made it impossible to ignore.
I stood there watching the woodpecker, equally mesmerized and annoyed by its rhythmic precision. Pale morning light illuminated its glossy black-and-white feathers. I grabbed one of my journals from the bedside table and through half open eyes scribbled "red-headed small woodpecker, black and white". My notes felt amateurish, but I hoped they might be useful if I was ever curious about the bird again.
After some investigation I learned that the culprit of my disrupted sleep was none other than the acorn woodpecker, a native to the Northern California oak woodlands known for its communal behavior of storing acorns in wooden structures. Much to my dismay, this particular woodpecker had taken a liking to the side of my porch. For the next two months acorns continued to shower from the oaks, accompanied by a relentless knocking on the side of my house. Both my dog and I grew accustomed to the noise. Gradually I realized that my futile resistance to the “disruption” of nature would only lead to further frustration and disappointment. The intrusion of the Acorn Woodpeckers served as a powerful lesson in radical acceptance over the things I can not control.
Acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)
The moment also proved to be a lively interruption to the solitude I had anticipated. In the weeks that followed I jotted down sporadic notes about birds in my journal during lunch breaks, between meetings, even hanging out with friends. I found myself growing more mindful and present with every bird observation. The anxiety and loneliness that I had initially feared began to dissipate, replaced by feelings of contentment.
This newfound joy inspired me to channel my bird watching observations into a creative outlet. Quickly I began to illustrate California native birds for the Hopland Research and Extension Center. These illustrations not only provided me with a fulfilling hobby but also served as a way to occupy the abundance of alone time I had living on-site. Capturing the intricate details and social behaviors of the different bird species became a meditative escape.
Allen's hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)
Sometimes, if I was lucky, I'd look up to see the very same bird I was illustrating— a hummingbird, a raven, a jay. We would share a brief moment of coexistence, staring at each other until my subtle movements inevitably prompted it to take flight. These moments tallied. For every time I watched them, they watched me right back. With each fleeting interaction I gained a deeper appreciation for the importance of stillness and mutual respect.
California quail (Callipepla californica)
Birds serve as the not-so silent witnesses to our solitude. They coexist with us in moments of strength and vulnerability. The California quail hears me singing my favorite song through an open kitchen window. The great blue heron watches me read by the river bank. Near the porch of my cottage, a family of scrub jays chatters excitedly upon my return from work.
Inevitably I will move away from HREC, and I won't be able to take the birds with me. Instead, I'll carry the skill of birdwatching as a reminder of the connection I forged with the natural world during my time here. What began as a simple hobby has evolved into a profound understanding of the interconnectedness between all living things and the landscapes they inhabit.
I can't deny that there are still moments when feelings of loneliness or worry weigh heavily on me. After all, birds are not substitutes for human connection. They can, however, serve as momentary solace if you let them.
- Author: Lily Elola
Rangeland Stewardship: Grazing for Ecosystem Resilience
Principal Investigators Dr. Valerie Eviner and Dr. Mary Cadenasso of UC Davis's Department of Plant Sciences have collaborated with the Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC) to design a study that investigates the impacts of grazing and prescribed burning on plant communities and ecosystem services in California's grasslands. Using both permanent plots and more flexible adaptive management studies, their project aims to understand how different management practices can enhance the “building blocks of resilience” in these systems– features such as the wildflower seedbank and increased water storage in soi,l which are critical for sustaining California grasslands in the face of environmental challenges such as invasive species, droughts, and wildfires.
Dr. Valerie Eviner collecting data at the Hopland Research and Extension Center
Hopland, CA
In an interview with HREC, Ecosystem and Restoration Ecology professor Dr. Eviner shared insights on emerging trends and technologies poised to shape ecological research in the coming decade. She highlighted how recent advancements in statistical tools have significantly transformed ecological research by allowing researchers to better understand the complex connections within ecosystems. She also underscored the significance of satellite and drone imagery in providing a broader perspective of plant ecology. Dr. Eviner also emphasized that recent state legislation is facilitating the widespread use of prescribed burning, which “presents a unique opportunity to explore the role of fire in grassland ecosystems through controlled experiments”. Additionally, she emphasized the growing importance of community-engaged research and working with diverse communities to foster responsible stewardship of natural resources. She concluded by emphasizing that “while data production is important, it lacks context without the wisdom cultivated through long-term observations on the land, often through thoughtful natural resource stewardship.”
A persistent challenge in developing research that is useful to land managers and policy makers is that many experiments are limited in size and duration. “Partnering with HREC allows us to conduct long-term research at the management scale, which is often not feasible at other research sites.” Dr. Eviner highlighted. According to Dr. Eviner, HREC has demonstrated a “commitment to adaptive management research” that allows her research team to gain valuable insights into what ecological management practices work and which don't– and how that may change over time.
In Dr. Eviner's opinion, the most pressing environmental challenge facing the world today is extreme events like wildfire and drought. She argues that in order for ecological research to be effective, “Science has to contribute to explaining and preparing communities for events they've never seen before.” The best path forward is for scientists to work in collaboration with land managers and policymakers to identify challenges and gaps in our understanding, and prioritize research that addresses future scenarios”. She highlights the critical role of science in identifying the foundations of ecosystem resilience, advocating for practices like retaining dead plant material to bolster soil health and water retention. Dr. Eviner also prompts a reassessment of traditional management goals in light of evolving environmental conditions, suggesting a shift towards promoting root production and carbon sequestration in grazed pastures. Furthermore, she underscores the importance of organizations such as the California Climate and Agriculture Network, in informing climate change policies and mitigation strategies at the state level.
Dr. Eviner envisions that the insights from her ecological research can extend beyond academia, effectively influencing positive change among various audiences. She emphasizes the importance of tailoring communication strategies to different groups. For instance, she notes that when engaging with land managers, there's no need to elaborate on the unprecedented environmental challenges; they are already acutely aware. Instead, discussions can focus on pragmatic approaches for adaptation and resilience.
Rangeland at the Hopland Research and Extension Center
Hopland, CA
When communicating with the general public, Dr. Eviner draws inspiration from experts like Katharine Hayhoe, renowned for her series "Global Weirding." She's observed a significant shift in public perception over the past two decades, with many individuals now having firsthand experiences of climate-related disruptions, such as living through wildfire smoke. “Younger generations, in particular, are increasingly aware of these issues” Dr. Eviner notes. Teaching at UC Davis, Dr. Eviner notices a growing enthusiasm among students for addressing environmental challenges, evidenced by the burgeoning interest in fields like restoration ecology and ecosystem management. She highlights a remarkable growth in class sizes and a prevalence of waiting lists for courses focused on these topics.This quantifiable interest in the topic of land/ecosystem management is indicative of a surge in passionate individuals dedicated to finding solutions.
Dr. Eviner's personal values and perspectives play a significant role in shaping her research priorities. She emphasizes the importance of land grant universities, which not only focus on theoretical science but also prioritize practical research that enhances California agriculture and environment. Reflecting on her own journey into ecology, Dr. Eviner recalls that during her graduate studies, it seemed like there was a tough choice between a focus on research or community engagement , but that has changed due to trail blazers such as her Ph.D. advisor, Dr. F Stuart Chapin III, whose dedication to both research and community involvement left a lasting impression on her work.
While she acknowledges the value of big data, Dr. Eviner ultimately believes that her research stands out due to its “emphasis on hands-on experience under changing conditions”. Much like land managers who adapt their perspectives based on real-time observations, conducting research in dynamic environments requires a keen awareness that different players in an ecosystem may be important under different conditions- so that we have to be flexible in what we're measuring. As an example, she highlights that when measuring seed survival after the 2018 Mendocino wildfire, on-the-ground observations made it apparent that ants played a large role in collecting viable seeds and concentrating them into “islands of recovery” of grasses. Dr. Eviner stresses the importance of collaborating with land managers and leveraging local wisdom, recognizing that even if individuals don't agree on the explanations of how a system works, they can often agree on the observations that led to those explanations, providing valuable context and wisdom.
