CAL FIRE releases updated Timber Harvesting Plan Filing Checklist

CAL FIRE sent out a Timber Harvesting Plan Filing Checklist document yesterday to assist RPFs and reduce Plan return rates.

The Checklist can be found here: CAL FIRE THP Filing Checklist September 2023

CAL FIRE is also recommending that RPFs use CalTREES as a resource to view examples of plans that were returned to avoid common mistakes that will cause plan returns.

Questions or comments regarding the Checklist or CalTREES can be directed to Shawn Headley, Forester III, Forest Practice Administration Program at 707-608-8017 or by email to shawn.headley@fire.ca.gov.

Applications for the 2023-2024 Forestry Mentorship Program are now open!

Interested in being a mentor or mentee? Apply now to share your forestry experience!

The Forestry and Natural Resources Career Mentorship Program matches forestry students in California with forestry and natural resource professionals for a year-long mentorship with the goals of recruitment and retention in the forestry field. More information about the program can be found on the program website.

The application flyer is here: 2023-2024 FMP Flyer. The application can be found here. Applications are due September 30th, 2023.

What last year’s participants said about the program:

“The mission is awesome and I’m so glad the program exists! Would’ve loved to do this when I was an undergrad looking for mentorship.” - Mentor, 2023

“My mentor helped me figure out my near-future career path. This year, I got an assistant forester position working in the Santa Cruz mountains which is a dream of mine.” - Mentee, 2023

The 2022-2023 Program Report is here.

Prescribed Fire Claims Fund is ready for applicants! Info on Webinar July 11, 2023

The new $20 million California Prescribed Fire Claims fund is now open for enrollment as of June 19, 2023. As the result of a collaboration between CAL FIRE, the Nature Conservancy and UC Cooperative Extension as well other key contributors, the pilot program is the result of Senate Bill 926 authored by Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa in 2022. The official press release can be found here.

In a recent email announcing the news, Lenya Quinn-Davidson the Director of the UCANR Fire Network, explains that the fund will be available to provide liability coverage of up to $2 million dollars per project for projects that have a burn plan and a qualified person to apply for the fund. The list of qualified applicants include a cultural practitioner, state-certified burn boss (CARX), or NWCG Type 1 or Type 2 Burn Boss (RXB1 or RXB2). The focus of the program is broadcast burns but pile burning projects will also be considered. Applicants are encouraged to apply to demonstrate the need for the program.

More information can be found on the Cal Fire Claims Fund webpage and more details can be found in the Program Guidelines and applicants can enroll/apply at this site.

A webinar on July 11, 2023 at 2:30PM will be hosted by the UCANR Fire Network. The zoom registration link is here: zoom registration link.

The Call for Public Comment on Proposal to Federally List the California Spotted Owl is Open Through 4/24/21

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public comment on the proposed federal listing of the California Spotted Owl. The 60-day comment period will be open from February 23, 2023 to April 24, 2023. Here is the press release, rule making document, and most importantly, the Link to Comment!

California Condors have found new supporters!

A recent press release from collaborators Green Diamond Resource Company and The Peregrine Fund announce that they, “… are collaborating to provide safer habitats for the critically endangered California Condor and other wildlife. The partners will first work together to expand the reach of the North American Non-lead Partnership (NANP) a partnership co-founded by The Peregrine Fund.

The California Condor, a resilient species that survived mass extinctions of the last Ice Age, was reduced to just 22 individuals by the 1980s. Decades of research suggests that lead poisoning may well have been a primary cause of their decline, but there is no doubt that lead is the primary impediment to recovery today. Working with the hunting community to address this issue is making a difference; now there are more than 500 condors in the world.”

Learn more: Green Diamond Resource Company and The Peregrine Fund create a conservation alliance around California Condors

30% of Conifer Forests in the Southern Sierras have transitioned to non-forest vegetation from 2011 to 2020

Forest cover and structure is dramatically changing in the Southern Sierras at an alarming rate. “A recent study conducted by scientists from UC Berkeley and the U.S. Forest Service documented widespread forest disturbance from 2011 to 2020. Published in Ecological Applications, the study found that 30% of the region’s conifer forests were lost to non-forest vegetation during that time period. The researchers also found that 50% of ecologically valuable mature forest habitats and 85% of high-density mature forests transitioned to either lower-density forests or non-forest” announced Rausser College of Natural Resources (https://nature.berkeley.edu/news/2022/10/widespread-forest-disturbances-hold-potentially-grave-consequences-wildlife). The authors suggest low severity disturbance might help prevent the high severity disturbances that are driving these changes.

The full journal article can be found here: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.2763

McKay Community Forest in Eureka Opens to the Public

McKay Community Forest Partially Open for Public Use Local Officials and Stakeholders Celebrate Opening of Northridge Parking Area and First Set of Forest Trails

The McKay Community Forest is located southeast of Eureka along the urban-forest interface near Myrtletown, Cutten, and Ridgewood Heights. The community forest was established when Humboldt County acquired a total of 1,194 acres of forestland from the Green Diamond Resource Company in a two-phase acquisition, with support from The Trust for Public Land and several federal and state funding agencies.

The public gained access on September 2022 to the first set of recreation trails.

The community forest is envisioned as a place that enhances quality of life by providing opportunities to experience a diverse, dynamic, and productive forest. The forest will be managed for multiple purposes including public access and recreation, sustainable timber harvest, and watershed and resource conservation. Revenues generated through timber harvest will offset the costs of management and maintenance and fund the development of trails, access points, and other amenities.

“Green Diamond Resource Company is proud to see this vision become a reality and for the public to have safe access to this community forest,” said Peter Jackson, Vice President and General Manager of California Operations, Green Diamond Resource Company. “The multi-group public-private partnership formed by the county is a critical element to this project. It’s brought together several diverse groups and serves as a model of cooperation for mutual benefit and a ‘win’ for everyone.”

More information can be found here: McKay Community Forest and here: Green Diamond’s McKay Forest Press Release

Logjam: The Supply Chain Problem That’s Keeping California From Preventing Catastrophic Wildfires on Private Land

link to article

Logjam: The Supply Chain Problem That’s Keeping California From Preventing Catastrophic Wildfires on Private Land

Private landowners in California hold a huge amount of forest that's primed to burn—and they need foresters, loggers, and mills to reduce that risk. Jane Braxton Little. Bay Nature October 11, 2022

Opinion: Plant trees, sure. But to save the climate, we should also cut them down

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/10/opinions/climate-plant-and-cut-trees-down-bader/index.html

Forests That Survive Megafires Prove Good Management Trumps Climate Change

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2020/09/13/forests-that-survive-megafires-prove-good-management-trumps-climate-change/?fbclid=IwAR2DcfsRxHJoDe1FDnNcDpq4qqqZfytksRRXlhR7Ya95WC4B0QXbILOG-HA#3637101e1305