Would you like to see more prescribed fire on San Benito and Monterey County rangelands? Come learn how on June 5 and 6.

On June 5 you will learn about options for prescribed fire on private lands, including details on regulations and permits, unit preparation, burn planning, and more!

On June 6 workshop participants will have the opportunity to participate in a live-fire training in Bitterwater (weather permitting). Please wear long pants, long sleeved shirt (natural fibers only), leather boots, and bring sunglasses and leather gloves.

Registration is $30.

Click here to register or contact Devii Rao at drorao@ucanr.edu or 831-637-5346 x14. Registration deadline is May 30.

Click here to see the flyer.

The University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is investigating how California livestock (cattle, horse, sheep, goat, pig, llama, alpaca, bee and other) producers have been impacted by wildfires in the last 10 years.  The following 10-15 minute survey will collect information on animal, production, feed, grazing, and property losses.  This study will provide data to inform policy and emergency response planning to support our livestock community.  If you are interested in taking the survey, click the following link: Fire Survey UC Davis 2019.

For more information, contact Kathleen O'Hara DVM, MPVM, at kcohara@ucdavis.edu.

• Website: http://bit.ly/UCDavisFIRE

 

Do you have a ranch in San Benito County or Monterey County with ground squirrels? I'm doing a study looking at the economic impacts of ground squirrels to ranching operations and I'm looking for three ranches to be study sites.

At each ranch, I will need to have 4, plots. Each plot will be one acre. One plot should have no squirrels, one plot should have low density squirrels, one plot should have medium density squirrels, and one plot should have high density squirrels. The plots will need to be flat so I can see the entire plot from one location. Ideally, all 4 plots would be in the same field so they have the same level of cattle grazing. Also, plots need to be at sites where squirrels were not controlled this year.

Please let me know if you (or anyone you know) have a ranch fits the bill. In terms of field work, I would come to the ranch for 3-4 days in a row in May. I would count squirrels in the morning and then estimate forage production and bare ground, including taking some forage clippings. Then I'd count squirrels again in the afternoon. I would put out 8 small marking flags at each plot so I can see the boundary of the plots.

I will need to start doing field work on May 6, which is coming up fast! So, I'm hoping to have all the ranches (or at least one or two) figured out by then. Eek!

If you or anyone you know is interested, please contact me at drorao@ucanr.edu or 831-637-5346 x14.

Thank you!

 

 

Greetings

This is a reminder that UC Cooperative Extension and San Benito Working Landscapes Group are co-hosting a prescribed burn meeting on Wednesday, March 13^th from 2:30-4:30 pm at the Veterans Memorial Building, 649 San Benito Street, Room 218, in Hollister.  The purpose of this meeting is threefold: 1) to introduce local ranchers/private landowners and agency partners to SB 901 CalFire grant opportunities and the Prescribed Burn Association model, 2) learn about past and current prescribed burn programs on rangelands in San Benito County, and 3) gauge whether there is interest among local ranchers and partner agencies/organizations in applying for SB 901 funds to further support prescribed burn efforts in our area.  

UCCE Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor Devii Rao will provide an overview of the SB 901 grant opportunity and an introduction to the Prescribed Burn Association model that has been adopted in Humboldt County.  A panel entitled “Prescribed Burning on San Benito Rangelands – Past, Present, and Future” will include local landowners and representatives from CalFire San Benito-Monterey Unit, San Benito Firesafe Council, Monterey Bay Air Resources District, and Pinnacles National Park. 

Please let Devii know if you have any questions: drorao@ucanr.edu or 831-637-5346 x14.

Hope to see you there!