- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
First Forester TREX to be held June 3-6
California's first-ever Forester Prescribed Fire Training Exchange event focused on bringing together professional foresters, forest managers and fire practitioners will occur June 3-6 near Watsonville. The four-day event is being hosted by the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association, which empowers the public to build a culture of good fire and supports private landowners in conducting prescribed burns in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.
There will be one burn conducted during the event, likely on June 4 or 5, which will be open for the public to observe.
Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges (TREXs) first came to Northern California in 2013, and have made a positive cultural shift concerning prescribed fire, within both regional fire services and the general public. These “good fire” TREX events have drawn significant attention, especially in the context of more severe wildfire seasons.
After months of cross-organizational planning, the four-day long training will be focused on exploring the connections between sustainable forest management, wildfire resilience, timber harvesting, prescribed fire, and will include a burn within a commercially harvested redwood forest. The TREX will provide experiential training opportunities to forest managers and planners to advance statewide knowledge of how to conduct prescribed fire in merchantable timber stands.
Along with the prescribed burn, the program will include lectures, local tours, and open discussions on how to incorporate fire into timber management, burn planning and timber harvest planning, pre- and post-fire considerations, and permitting mechanisms for fire and timber harvesting. Presentations will be given by local forestry consultants, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, CALFIRE and local fire practitioners.
The burn location will occur near Mount Madonna, on private land with access allowed for accompanied observation only. Be advised, while the ForesterTREX planning team works closely with theMonterey Bay Air Resources District to assure good smoke dispersal, smoke may be seen and be present in these areas during and after a burn. Please see the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association webpage at calpba.org/centralcoastpba for updates close to the burn date.
Participants and partners include the Mount Madonna Center, members of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Resource Conservation District of Monterey County, CALFIRE, local land trusts, scientists, ranchers, students, researchers, land managers and others. The Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association is currently funded via California Coastal Conservancy grants.
For more information or to join a group of observers, contact Barb Satink Wolfson, UC Cooperative Extension area fire advisor at bsatink@ucanr.edu.
- Author: Devii R. Rao
- Posted by: Gale Perez
UC Cooperative Extension San Benito County is going to collaborate with San Jose State University to develop a CAL FIRE Forest Health Research grant proposal. We are interested in looking at different methods to control coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis). Coyote brush is a native shrub. However, it invades our coastal prairie grasslands, which are already in decline and are home to many native and special status plants and wildlife, not to mention being valuable forage for livestock. We already conducted a pilot study looking at different treatments (chainsaw, masticating, and crushing) prior to a prescribed burn to see which pre-burn treatments allow the burn to be more successful in controlling the coyote brush. And we are hoping to expand this study!
We are looking for landowners who would be interested in collaborating with us on the project, if it gets funded. Please take less than 5 minutes to fill out this survey to let us know if you've tried to control coyote brush in the past, how it has worked, and if you'd be interested in being part of this study.
If you are interested in reading more about the pilot study, below is the study abstract from the 2022 California Native Plant Society Conference:
Some combinations of mechanical pre-treatment & prescribed fire increase shrub mortality in Baccharis pilularis (coyote brush) encroached coastal prairie restoration, presented by Dr. Kate Wilkin
California coastal prairies have undergone dramatic woody encroachment by shrubs, including Baccharis pilularis (coyote brush). The conversion of grasslands to shrublands alters many key ecosystem services for this endangered and important habitat. These prairies, like prairies around the world, were likely maintained to be free of shrubs by frequent Indigenous burning. Many land managers have tried to remove coyote brush, but this resilient native plant is a tenacious resprouter. One technique, prescribed fire, is often difficult to apply in encroached coastal prairies because of the narrow burn windows allowed for public safety, which often do not allow more intense prescribed fires to occur. To expand the burn window and improve the shrub removal efficacy of this treatment, we completed mechanical treatments (mastication, crush, and sawing) before prescribed fire. Saw pre-treatment increased dead surface fuels, fire behavior, and shrub mortality more than other treatments. Mastication increased these factors as well, but to a lesser extent. Crushing and the control were similar. While saw and mastication pre-treatments were better than our alternatives, they had very low shrub mortality (11 and 6% respectively). We plan to complete another prescribed fire to determine if we can improve shrub mortality further.
Devii Rao is the UC Cooperative Extension San Benito County Director and Area Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor. she also covers Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
Original source: UCCE Livestock & Range blog.
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- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The massive die-off of conifers in the Sierra Nevada between 2012 and 2018 was predictable and unprecedented. Sadly, it is also likely to happen again, said UC Cooperative Extension forestry advisor Susie Kocher.
To help landowners manage forests in a way that minimizes the risk of such catastrophic tree die-off and the threat of uncontrolled wildfire, Kocher and two colleagues produced a 20-page publication that summarizes current research on tree mortality and outlines actions that can be taken to make the forest more resilient. The publication, Mass Tree Mortality, Fuels, and Fire: A Guide for Sierra Nevada Forest Landowners, is available for free download from the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources catalog.
Written by Stanford graduate student Devin McMahon (now graduated), UC Berkeley Cooperative Extension forest health specialist Jodi Axelson and Kocher, the publication presents the extent of the die-off in the Sierra Nevada, and describes different factors that contributed to the vast loss of tree life – including land management practices, weather patterns and geography. It includes detailed reporting on the mortality's impacts on fuels and fire risk so landowners and managers can understand and develop strategies to prevent similar destruction in the future.
While about two-thirds of California's 33 million acres of forests are public lands held by state and federal government agencies, the rest is in private hands. Large companies manage millions of acres for commercial timber production, but about 9 million acres are owned by individuals. Nearly 90% of individuals own 50 acres or less; 87,000 landowners have 10 acres or more of forest.
“That's a really large number of people,” Kocher said. “That's one of the reasons why it is so difficult for landowners to manage land to improve forest health and reduce fire risk. It's not economical to do forest management on small areas.”
It's also very complicated. As natural processes play out over time in a forest with mass mortality, the fire risk changes dramatically.
“In the new publication, we help people understand the nuances of forest management so they understand what actions are most appropriate throughout the whole cycle,” she said.
Assessing and addressing the fire risk
The publication provides an overview of fire risk reduction. A table lays out the seven components of fire risk – fuel load, fuel moisture, fuel continuity, probability of ignition, weather conditions, topography and vulnerability to fire – along with mitigation actions for each that landowners can take.
Intentional, controlled burning, or prescribed fire, is often the most effective way to decrease fuel loads and future risk from fires, the researchers wrote. Other management actions include masticating – chewing up brush and branches with specialized equipment – felling and removing dying and dead standing trees, and thinning live trees.
The authors conclude with a glimmer of hope for the future of California forest lands. “Carefully planned forest management can reduce the amount and continuity of fuel on the landscape and limit the risk of destructive fire after tree mortality.”
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
When conditions are right, winter can be a good time to conduct prescribed burns for forest management, says Rob York, UC Cooperative Extension forestry specialist.
“A huge issue we have in California is fire severity. We know from research that prescribed fire can be a very good tool for reducing fire severity,” York said. “For forest landowners or foresters who want to do their own prescribed burning, winter burning can be a good entry point.”
York is based at the UC Blodgett Forest Research Station in Georgetown, where he developed a series of eight short videos demonstrating how fire can be used on landscapes during the colder months. The videos feature controlled fires conducted at the station on Dec. 6 and 9, 2020. More videos in this series will be posted during the upcoming year.
Among the factors covered in the videos are climatic conditions and site selection for winter burning.
Climatic conditions
Wet or snowy weather in the fall may seem to shut the window for prescribed burning, but York said often the snow melts away and fuels dry out enough to do a winter burn.
“The idea is to be ready when the fuels dry out,” he said. Thinning trees and masticating underbrush are ways to prepare the forest for a burn.
When selecting the day of the fire, relative humidity, temperature and wind speed and direction are important considerations.
“Relative humidity should be low. You want the cloud cover to be very low. A sunny day helps dry out the fuel,” York said. “In the winter, you want that drying and heating power of the sun to help the fuel be consumed.”
Site selection
Among the factors to consider in selecting locations for winter burns is the aspect. The sun's warmth is optimized on south-facing slopes.
“That's what we're looking for,” York said. “Relatively small areas that are burnable.”
An open canopy allows sunlight to dry out the understory vegetation and surface fuels, enabling successful winter burns.
Vegetation type also weighs into winter burning decisions.
“Bear clover plus pine needles make this feasible, including conditions on the wetter side when you might not otherwise be able to burn, you can burn,” York said. “If you can encourage bear clover and pine needles, you can encourage more opportunities for low density burns, which I think do a great job to maintain low fire hazard.”
Find the complete series on the UC Forestry and Range YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/UCExtensionForestry) in the playlist titled Winter Prescribed Burning.
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources brings the power of UC to all 58 counties. Through research and Cooperative Extension in agriculture, natural resources, nutrition, economic and youth development, our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians. Learn more at ucanr.edu.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
With a $379,785 grant from CAL FIRE, UC Cooperative Extension and the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County are spearheading a community effort to create a prescribed burn association along California's Central Coast region.
The grant is one of 55 awarded by CAL FIRE to reduce the risk of devastating wildfires that take lives and destroy homes and valued wildland environments across California.
“These 55 local projects will play a critical role in augmenting our fire prevention efforts,” said CAL FIRE director Chief Thom Porter.
Prescribed burn associations (PBAs) are made up of ranchers, volunteer firefighters, non-profit organization and other community members. They pool their resources and energy to plan and conduct prescribed burns on private land. The first California PBA was established in 2018.
“Improving forage and reducing fire risk are key goals of our prescribed burns,” said Devii Rao, UC Cooperative Extension natural resources advisor and project manager. “We will also plan fires to control non-native invasive weeds and restore and enhance wildlife habitat.”
Funds for the CAL FIRE grant program are part of the California Climate Investment, a statewide program that uses cap-and-trade dollars to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen the economy, improve public health and conserve the environment. While prescribed burns emit smoke and carbon dioxide, the amount is much lower than high-intensity wildfires.
Rao said UCCE will be holding workshops and meetings to teach potential association members and the general public about fire ecology, fire permitting, prescribed burn planning and liability associated with burning.
“People are really seeing the value of prescribed fire and they are seeing that it's better to have several smaller burns throughout the year as opposed to these giant, catastrophic wildfires that cause so much damage,” Rao said. “If we can have many smaller burns, we can achieve resource conservation goals, we can achieve forage improvement goals and we can improve fire safety all at the same time.”
Grazing cattle for fire safety
Rao is also leading a study, funded by the California Cattle Council, to better understand the influence of livestock grazing on fire safety of California wildlands. This project is in collaboration with UCCE rangeland specialist Luke Macaulay, UCCE livestock and natural resources advisor Sheila Barry, rangeland consultant Felix Ratcliff and recent UC Berkeley graduate Rowan Peterson.
The researchers used brand inspection data, USDA Ag Census data and county crop reports to estimate the number of rangeland cattle in each county across the state. They estimated how much forage – or from the fire safety perspective, how much fuel – the cattle are consuming.
“Thanks to Felix's great work analyzing these multiple complex datasets, our preliminary results show that cattle consumed approximately 12.4 billion pounds of forage across California in 2017,” Rao said.
Tulare County had the greatest amount of wildfire fuel consumed (1.3 billion pounds), and Orange County had the least (896,000 pounds). Forage removed per grazed rangeland acre ranged from a low of 13 pounds per acre in Alpine County to 2,157 pounds per acre in Tulare County.
Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, the Sierra Nevada Foothills, and the northernmost counties in the state had somewhat higher removal of wildfire fuel per grazed acre compared with other counties in the state.cedx
“Our analysis is currently ongoing. However, this preliminary analysis shows that many counties have adequate rangeland grazing to significantly reduce wildfire risk, at least in certain strategic areas,” Rao said.
In many counties, grazed rangelands are only a fraction of total grazeable rangeland.
“These counties highlight opportunities for grazing to help fight wildfire risk,” Rao said.