Managing California Black Oak for Tribal Ecocultural Restoration

J. For. 115(5):426–434 PRACTICE OF FORESTRY https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.16-033 Managing California Black Oak for Tribal Ecocultural Restoration Jonathan W. Long, Ron W. Goode, Raymond J. Gutteriez, Jessica J. Lackey, and M. Kat Anderson Many tribes in California and Oregon value California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) as a traditional source of (Patagioenas fasciata) (Gleeson et al. 2012); food and other values. Over centuries or millennia, Native Americans learned that they could enhance production and many predators that consumed acorn- of desired resources by regularly igniting low-intensity surface fires in stands of black oak. Although black oak eating birds and small mammals, including is likely to remain widespread in the future, a warming climate, increasingly dense forests, and altered fire fsher (Pekania pennanti, an omnivorous regimes threaten the large, full-crowned mature trees that produce crops of high-quality acorns and provide mammal in the weasel family) and spotted cavities for many wildlife species. To examine the effects of different kinds of burns on tribal values including owl (Strix occidentalis) (Long et al. 2016). associated plants, fungi, and wildlife of special cultural significance, we reviewed and synthesized scientific Native Americans actively managed studies of black oak in conjunction with interviews and workshops with tribal members who use the species and oak stands for centuries or millennia, with recall burning by their ancestors. We conducted two exploratory analyses to understand trends in large black families gathering and storing thousands of oaks and potential tradeoffs regarding black oak restoration. Our findings identify opportunities for reintro- pounds of acorns (Anderson 2005). These ducing low-intensity fire, in conjunction with thinning, to restore stands that are favorable for acorn gathering. oak stands occurred both within open oak We present examples of such projects and discuss how to overcome challenges in restoring the socioecological woodlands and within conifer-dominated benefits of black oak ecosystems for tribes. forests. Indigenous people had learned that igniting low-intensity fres regularly within Keywords: ecosystem services, forest planning, cultural burning, traditional ecological knowledge, landscape oak stands not only facilitated acorn collec- restoration tion but also stimulated production of acorns, berries, and other foods, controlled alifornia black oak (Quercus kellog- such signifcance, black oak qualifes as a populations of insects that consumed gii, hereafter called simply “black “cultural keystone” species (Garibaldi and acorns, and did not damage to mature oaks oak”) provides acorns, a traditional Turner 2004, Long et al. 2016). (Jack 1916, Anderson 2006). Their practices C maintained more open and heterogeneous staple that remains a cherished food for Black oaks directly or indirectly support tribes in California and Oregon. Black oak many animals that Native Americans valued stands with low fuel levels, which in turn was the preferred species among many tribes for many reasons, including their utility in stimulated understory diversity and in- with access to its acorns, and second only to preparing food, regalia, baskets, and other creased resilience of the remaining trees to its distant relative, the tanoak (Notholitho- goods. Examples include deer (Odocoileus drought and fre (Underwood et al. 2003, carpus densiflorus), for many others (Figure hemionus); birds such acorn woodpecker Long et al. 2016). 1). Acorns have had an important role in (Melanerpes formicivorus), pileated wood- Today, black oak remains widely dis- cultural transmission and rituals, including pecker (Dryocopus pileatus), mountain quail tributed across California and into southern dances, festivals, and ceremonies. Because of (Oreortyx pictus), and band-tailed pigeon Oregon, with even a small population re- Received August 4, 2016; accepted September 1, 2016; published online December 15, 2016. Affiliations: Jonathan W. Long ([email protected]), USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, Davis. CA. Ron W. Goode ([email protected]), North Fork Mono Tribe. Raymond J. Gutteriez ([email protected]), SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry/Wuksachi Band of Mono Indians. Jessica J. Lackey ([email protected]), University of Minnesota/Citizen of the Cherokee Nation. M. Kat Anderson ([email protected]), USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Acknowledgments: We thank several individuals for providing insights and assistance for this project, including Richard Lavell, Jesse Valdez, Lois Conner-Bohna, Dirk Charley, and Joanna Clines. We also thank Frank Lake, Angela White, Andrew Gray, Danny Manning, and Clint Isbell for contributing helpful feedback, data, and/or photographs that improved this article. The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station and the Washington Office of Research and Development, as well as The Wildlife Society provided support for this research. 426 Journal of Forestry • September 2017 ported from Baja California, Mexico (Long et al. 2016). Oaks may fare better than many Sidebar: Glossary of Technical Terminology other kinds of trees under a hotter and drier Cultural keystone—Species that signifcantly shape the cultural identity of a people, as refected in diet, materials, medicine, and/or spiritual practice. future climate (McIntyre et al. 2015). De- Cultural ecosystem services—“The nonmaterial benefts people obtain from eco- spite their adaptability, the species is vulner- systems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, refection, recreation, able to localized extirpations after severe and aesthetic experiences” (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). drought or wildfres in drier, more southerly Epicormic branches—Shoots that arise from adventitious or dormant buds on the areas, as well as to the introduced sudden stem or branch of a woody plant, often after fre or increases in sunlight. oak death pathogen (Phytophthora ramo- Heartrot—Rotting of the bole and large limbs of living trees by fungal pathogens. rum) in the more humid, northwestern part Top-kill—Aboveground portion of plant is killed while the belowground portion of its range (Frankel and Palmieri 2014, survives and is able to sprout. Alternative postfre outcomes for black oaks include Long et al. 2016). Moreover, tribal members having no damage, resprouting from their crowns, or being entirely killed. are particularly concerned about the ecolog- Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK)—“A cumulative body of knowledge, ical services provided by mature black oaks, practice, and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through genera- rather than the simple abundance of the spe- tions by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including hu- cies. mans) with one another and with their environment” (Berkes et al. 2000). We synthesized fndings from scientifc studies of black oak and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) from tribal members who have interest in gathering acorns and enous populations and lifeways, including for maintaining traditional diets and prac- other values associated with the species. Our long-standing relationships with forests, tices (Anderson and Lake 2013). objective was to understand how treatments through a myriad of violent acts and policies TEK is cultivated through practice that promote conditions desired by tribal mem- recognized as genocide by descendants and builds and maintains relationships between bers who value black oak and associated academic researchers (Fenelon and Trafzer people and place. The lack of suffcient op- wildlife, plants, and fungi. In this article, we 2014, Norgaard 2014). Native Americans portunities to gather acorns and continue characterize desired conditions from the who survived that era and the continuing other traditions threatens not only material scale of individual acorns to large land- legacies of dispossession and cultural as- benefts but also important values including scapes, examine concerns over current con- similation have embarked on a cultural re- spiritual, religious, cultural heritage, social, ditions, and present an approach for target- surgence, including strengthening their sense of place, and educational values (Nor- ing restoration treatments. Finally, we food sovereignty by renewing their rela- gaard 2014), which collectively have been tionships to traditional foods (Conti provide examples of ongoing collaborations described as “cultural ecosystem services” 2006, Turner and Turner 2007, Adamson between national forests and tribes in restor- (Daniel et al. 2012). The federal govern- 2011). However, many tribes have insuf- ing black oak systems. ment is actively working toward fully inte- fcient land bases to tend or restore cultur- Threats to Tribal Values ally signifcant plant species and commu- grating such ecosystem services into agency decisions (Schaefer et al. 2015). Tribal Associated with Black Oak nities. Many tribal gatherers contend that because of limited access, lack of fre, and groups in particular have promoted the con- Although large black oaks have thick cept of “ecocultural restoration” that em- bark that protects them from low-intensity forest densifcation, they have limited opportunities for gathering high-quality phasizes the inextricable connections among burns, intense fres often kill the above- ecological and cultural values held by indige- ground stems. However, the trees typically black oak acorns,

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