Field Tours

The field trips provided participants with three choices to spend all or part of the first day to experience different aspects of redwood ecology and management of coast redwoods along California's central coast.

Tour Option #1, North County
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., lunch, refreshments and transportation were provided.
This tour focused on active redwood timber management on corporate ownerships operating under the unique policies that dictate decision making on the central coast, and Cal-Poly’s forest management and research at its Swanton Pacific Ranch. A brief tour of the Big Creek Lumber Company sawmill and a visit to areas burned in the more than 7,000 acre Lockheed Fire of 2009 was included. The trip was centered around on-site discussions of issues and projects in fisheries, stream restoration, long-term watershed monitoring and research, selection silviculture, fire and public safety.

Tour Option #2, South County
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., lunch, refreshments and transportation were provided.
This trip traversed the range of redwood forest conditions from the old growth of Henry Cowell State Park and the uncut 120 year old young growth of Nisene Marks State Park to uneven-aged young growth stands established by individual tree selection harvesting on non-industrial forestlands. Discussion topics included retention and expansion of old forest characteristics, impacts of Phytophthora ramorum (SOD) on coast redwood stands, urbanization of coast redwood forest systems and multiple use challenges on a family ownership.

Please visit the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County Website for a copy of "Conservation Blueprint for Santa Cruz County: An Assessment and Recommendations from the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County" as mentioned on the field trip.