Posts Tagged: Mariposa County
UCCE offers training for landowners interested in using prescribed fire
Healthy California wildlands were managed with periodic wild and cultural fires for millennia. As the state's population and development grew, officials suppressed most fires out of concern for people, homes and businesses.
Though well-meaning, the strategy left land overgrown with vegetation capable of fueling even more dangerous high-intensity wildfires. The past few years have seen an exponential increase in catastrophic wildfires in California.
As a result, there is growing interest in using prescribed fire to bring nature back into balance. Despite the current interest, communities have limited capacity, shared knowledge and experience to bring it back. To close those information gaps, UC Cooperative Extension in Mariposa County hosted a five-session webinar series because the in-person workshop was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The switch to a virtual series enticed more than 500 people from across the U.S. and more than 12 countries register for the series, and 200 people regularly attended each session. In comparison, 34 people were registered for the in-person workshop.
The webinar series provided guidance on fire ecology, prescribed burn permitting and planning, plus cost-share and the concept of launching a prescribed burn association with neighbors, local agencies and the community in five 90-minute sessions. Recordings are now available free on the UCCE Mariposa County YouTube channel.
The training is designed for California landowners and land managers, but contains information that can be applied broadly in areas where landowners and managers are faced with unmanaged vegetation growth that poses a fire risk.
“Whether you live in a mixed conifer forest, oak woodland, chaparral or grassland habitat, returning prescribed fire to California is part of well-managed landscapes,” said Fadzayi Mashiri, UC Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor and the webinar series coordinator.
The webinar series struck another first for the small foothill county. The recorded series was approved for continuing education units by the national Society for Range Management. Following are links to individual sessions:
Session 1 – Fire ecology
Fire ecology and behavior and benefits of prescribed fire, Susie Kocher, UCCE forestry advisor in Lake Tahoe
Prescribed fire for invasive plants and weed control, Fadzayi Mashiri, UCCE natural resources advisor in Mariposa and Merced counties
Session 2 – Permitting
CAL FIRE permitting and prescribed burning, Brian Mattos, CAL FIRE unit forester for resource management
Air quality permitting and the health impacts of fire – David Conway, environmental health director, Mariposa County Health Department
Session 3 – Prescribed fire planning
Wildland-urban interface dynamics and community planning – Steve Engfer, senior planner, Mariposa County Planning Department
Developing a burn plan – Rob York, UCCE forestry specialist
Session 4 – Resources for burning
Prescribed burn associations – Lenya Quinn-Davidson, UCCE fire ecology advisor
EQUIP funds for prescribed fire through the National Resources Conservation Service – Robyn Smith, Natural Resources Conservation Service district conservationist
Session 5 – Cultural burning
Benefits of cultural burn, Honorable Ron Goode, North Fork Mono Tribe
Social History of Fire in Southern Sierra – Jared Dahl Aldern, Sierra-Sequoia Burn Association.
The workshops were funded in part by California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment. Sponsors include the North Fork Mono Tribe, CAL FIRE and the Southern Sierra Prescribed Fire Council.
Take a short jaunt in Mariposa to see a treasure of California native plants
A half-block from the highway that brings thousands of tourists to Yosemite National Park each year, the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) Master Gardeners landscaped a short and scenic hiking path that provides the perfect break on a long drive.
The quarter-mile-long Mariposa Creek Parkway runs parallel to State Route 140 (Main Street in downtown Mariposa) on Stroming Road between Eighth and Sixth streets. Along the path, the Master Gardeners created the California Native Plant Demonstration Garden, which includes dozens of beautiful, drought-tolerant plants labeled for easy identification.
The path, which follows a short stretch of Mariposa Creek, was designed to increase appreciation for native flora and encourage Californians to consider “going native” in their own landscapes, saidKris Randal, coordinator of the Master Gardener program for UC ANR Cooperative Extension in Mariposa and Merced counties. Water shortages associated with the ongoing California drought are also driving interest in landscaping with native plants.
“Many natives are drought-tolerant, adapted to local soils, and rarely need fertilizers or pesticide treatments,” Randal said. “With some care and irrigation to get them started, they create a beautiful natural setting that brings pollinators and wildlife into your backyard.”
Randal was an advocate for native plants even before joining UC ANR. As a community educator for the Resource Conservation District in Mariposa County, she coordinated the transformation of a weedy parking lot around the district's building on the Mariposa Fairgrounds into a beautiful display of plants and wildflowers that occur naturally in the surroundings.
She did the same thing in her own Mariposa yard, bringing in and nursing the plants that flourish in natural areas.
“After I planted native brush and wildflowers, it was a joy for me to watch diversity come into my yard. Plant it, and they will come,” Randal said.
Randal suggests growing California native plants, even over native plants from other parts of the world with Mediterranean climates – such as Australia, Chile and South Africa – which also are often recommended because of their low water needs.
The California natives, she said, support local wildlife and pollinators, have historical and cultural importance, and save time and expense while adding beauty and ecological health to the environment. Native plants attract native bees, butterflies and hummingbirds and provide seeds, nuts and fruits for other native birds and wildlife. Native plants promote soil health by supporting flora and fauna that flourish underground.
“There's all kinds of magic going on under the soil,” Randal said.
As a first step toward converting to native landscaping, Randal suggests finding a natural area close to home and visiting it every few weeks to see what is growing, and what is blooming. Take notes and consult a plant guide or the Internet to identify the plants.
“It sounds like a lot of work, but it's not,” Randal said. “It's fun.”
This task is particularly convenient for Mariposa County residents, where the UC ANR Master Gardeners planted a wide array of beautiful native plants in one place.
Under the auspices of UC ANR Cooperative Extension, Master Gardeners are trained by UC ANR academics in research-based and sustainable gardening and landscaping practices. They become volunteer educators for non-commercial gardeners. In Mariposa County, a significant amount of volunteer time goes into tending the native plant garden.
In early spring, one of the first deciduous shrubs to leaf-out on the pathway is California buckeye. The leathery, pear-shaped fruits contain seeds that are easily sprouted, or they can be used in dried flower arrangements.
Along the trail, visitors will find California fuchsia, known by many as a natural hummingbird feeder. Blue elderberry, columbine and manzanita also attract hummingbirds to the demonstration garden.
Randal points out soap root, which looks like a grouping of long spindly leaves growing from the ground. Native Americans used pulp from the bulb to make a soapy lather, and they used the fibrous and hairy husks of the bulb to make small brushes to whisk out acorn shell debris from grinding holes.
One of Randal's favorite natives, she said, is a low creeping sage. The fragrant plant forms a low mat as big as 10 feet across with blue-violet flowers May to June. “This is great in a pine forest where it will get afternoon shade,” Randal said.
A lovely shrub known as Ceanothus blue jeans produces profuse powder-blue clustered flowers. The tall evergreen provides a colorful show of flowers with no care or irrigation. Western redbud explodes with magenta blossoms in the spring. Native Americans used the branches for basket weaving and made a red dye from the bark. Red Twig dogwood produces beautiful white blooms in early summer, and its bright red branches are a unique display in the winter.
“Growing native plants help you appreciate your surroundings and feel more connected to the natural world,” Randal said. “It attracts more life and that's why many of us garden.”
An initiative to maintain and enhance healthy families and communities is part of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Strategic Vision 2025.
NATIONAL 4-H WEEK: Local clubs prepare to celebrate
Mariposa Weekly Gazette, September 29, 2011
www.mariposagazette.com/news/2011-09-29/Local_News/NATIONAL_4H_WEEK.html
Across the country, 4-H will celebrate National 4-H Week 2011 Sunday, Oct. 2 through Saturday, Oct. 8. National 4-H week, celebrated annually, provides recognition to youth and leaders involved in 4-H programs.
With an expansive network reaching every corner of the country, 4-H is the nation’s largest youth development organization. More than 6 million 4-H youth in urban neighborhoods, suburban schoolyards, military bases, and rural farming communities stand out among their peers: building revolutionary opportunities and implementing community-wide change at an early age.
In the state of California there are more than 20,000 4-H volunteer leaders, and the organization serves over 120,000 youth. This past year in Mariposa County there were over 180 members and 66 4-H volunteer leaders.
In Mariposa County the 4-H members from our four clubs: Bootjack 49ers, Cathey’s Valley, Triangle and the Don Pedro Rattlers 4-H will be wearing their uniforms to school, church, doing presentations at schools & clubs, and inviting their friends, young and old, to join this wonderful Youth Development Program.
From self-defense to sheep to small engines, local
![Cloverbuds are 4-H members in kindergarten through third grade. They are pictured, from left, Pavel, Jonah, Jonah's mom and brother and Trinity making Valentine cards for the senior center, the group’s community service project. Cloverbuds are 4-H members in kindergarten through third grade. They are pictured, from left, Pavel, Jonah, Jonah's mom and brother and Trinity making Valentine cards for the senior center, the group’s community service project.](http://ucanr.org/blogs/4HMedia/blogfiles/8805.jpg)
The California 4-H mission statement is: “The University of California 4-H Youth Development Program engages youth in reaching their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development.” The 4-H YDP is an educational program to assist youth in their development by providing learn-by-doing educational projects, developing skills, leadership, citizenship, and partnerships for programming and funding which will benefit youth throughout life.
It also strengthens families and the local community by working together as a team. 4-H is not just animals; the Mariposa 4-H YDP is adding new projects each year to expand our youth’s knowledge. For this upcoming year, some local projects are Hi 4-H (for seventh through 12th graders), Junior Master Gardeners, self-defense, Cloverbuds (for kindergarten through third grades), livestock, leadership, photography, theater arts, and more.
4-H also offers youth and adult conferences and workshops, leadership and officer trainings, camps for leaders and members, and outreach programs. This past program year, Yosemite Bank along with Mariposa 4-H Club Council sponsored “Camp Tweety.” This camp is offered to 4-H members and non-members in fourth through eighth grades. This overnight camp was held at Lions Camp Pacifica in Ahwahnee. Plans are already in the making for Camp Tweety in June 2012.
Along with 4-H clubs and projects, the youth program offers the School Enrichment Program, “Ag in the Classroom” which is sponsored by the Mariposa County Farm Bureau and County of Mariposa.
During this past year, over 16 teachers were able to check out incubators and curriculum to study Embryology, Ladybugs, Butterfly Gardens, Root- View Gardens, Honey-bee Life Cycle, and Cotton’s Journey curricula. Over 1,400 students at the county schools, homeschool and pre-schools had ‘hands-on’ experience with this program.
For youth joining 4-H to attend 2012 fairs with their 4-H projects, re-enrollment for current 4-H members must take place by Oct. 1 and new members’ enrollment must take place by Nov. 1. Enrollment fees are $20 for youth and $10 for volunteer leaders.
Volunteer leaders need to go through a new leader orientation and be fingerprinted before having project meetings with the youth. To complete a project, a minimum of six project meetings with ten hours of instruction is required for the leaders and members.
Anyone who would like to join 4-H as a member or project leader or have use of the “Ag in the Classroom” materials, contact the UCCE office at 966- 4829 or drop by the office at 5009 Fairgrounds Road.