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FALL/WINTER 2018 a oolan an river protetion in pper osmnes atershe by lan hrgo, xecutie irecor, American Rier Conserancy ast of Sacramento, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, the El Dorado Ranch fronts the Cosumnes River, one of the last Eundammed rivers on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada. Hiking across the ranch’s 7,800 acres of mature blue oak woodland is like taking a step back-in-time, before 150 years of California residential development. e undisturbed woodland stretches as far as the eye can see, and the diversity of wildlife © D ou g l as P arks F i ne A rt P h ot og rap h y w w w . d ou g l as p arks . c om skyrockets at the main fork of the Cosumnes River to include an assemblage of native shes, bald and golden eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus and Aquila chrysaetos), bear, mountain lion (Puma concolor), and song birds. A protected future for this landscape was not always assured. In the 1950s the Bureau of Reclamation proposed the Nashville Project, a three-dam complex immediately east of Highway 49 on the Cosumnes River. But the Cosumnes is not a high-elevation watershed, and as such, a hydroelectric complex on the river would have limited capacity. us the proposal died with more intensive nancial analysis. In the mid-1990s, McCuen Proper- ties proposed a subdivision of 569 rural lots over the 7,800 acre ranch. is project was Cosum nes R iver Canyon later abandoned when neighboring residents, the quality of water owing into the Sacra- the City of Plymouth, and Foothill Conser- mento Valley and Bay–Delta. e Cosumnes Pages 2-5 vancy challenged it based on impacts to serves as a rare model of a free-owing river California Oaks Coalition Reports existing transportation routes, and to natural because there are no signicant dams on its and Resources and cultural resources. North, Middle, South or Main Forks. e Fire; Oaks as Management Indicator is fall American River Conservancy acquisition of El Dorado Ranch and conser- Species in the Los Padres National Forest; (ARC) will complete its third phase acquisi- vation of this extensive blue oak woodland Mudslides; Ice Age oak tion, protecting a total of 3,157 acres of El will protect the Cosumnes River from its Pages 6-7 Dorado Ranch and over 2.5 miles of river headwaters to its conuence with the Mokel- California Wildlife Foundation Partner canyon immediately west of Highway 49. umne River. Reports Acquired and protected lands will make up Over the past ten years, ARC has Carrizo Plain; South Bay Salt Pond Rest- 40 percent of the entire ranch and will completed the purchase of thirteen proper- oration; Mokelumne River; Napa County provide habitat for a future State Wildlife ties fronting the Cosumnes River, protecting Update; Pacic Herring Management Area, as well as the rst public trail in the 7,000 acres of riparian habitat benecial to Page 8 Upper Cosumnes watershed. native shes, including rainbow trout Proposition 3 on November ballot ARC’s goals include protecting the native –– continued on page 8 sheries, the extensive wildlife corridor, and 1 e article below is adapted from a presentation Carol Rice made at a technical session on oak woodlands during California Native Plant Society’s Conservation Conference held in Los Angeles earlier this year. Tom Gaman chaired the session and presented statewide trends in oak California Oaks woodlands. Coalition California Oaks Coalition brings together state, Oak woodlands and fire regional, and local organizations to conserve by Carol R ice, G en eral M an ager Bark thickness and branching habits are and perpetuate the state’s primary old growth W ild lan d R es M gt an d T om G am an, resource. Members of California Oaks Coalition also adaptations that protect oaks from re R egistered P rof ession al F orester an d Ad v isor, are united by the vital role of oaks in providing damage, but sprouting is what provides a California Wildlife Foundation habitat, sustaining healthy watersheds, and competitive edge over conifers. Sprouting is sequestering carbon: Fire ecology in oak woodlands: Fire has especially advantageous when re frequency American River Watershed Institute always been a part of oak woodlands and is high. For example, during a Society of Butte Environmental Council forests. Oak woodlands persist because they American Foresters eld trip to the Rim Fire California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC) California Native Plant Society (CNPS) have adapted to live with re aer thousands site, the group concluded that much of the CNPS San Diego Restoration Committee of years of burning. most severely burned area is likely to become CNPS Sanhedrin Chapter e main adaptation is that most oaks oak woodland because the conifers could not Californians for Western Wilderness (CalUWild) sprout. Coast live oaks can survive crown withstand frequent high-intensity res, but California Wilderness Coalition (CalWild) scorch and then vigorously sprout from their oaks could. Carpe Diem West Clover Valley Foundation base. Deciduous oaks are not known for their One way to understand the role of re in Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy sprouting capability, although studies found oak woodlands is by looking at re regimes, Elder Creek Oak Sanctuary that only 3 percent of burned valley oaks died including how oen the area has burned, the Endangered Habitats Conservancy even when 85 percent of the trees were intensity of re, and the severity of the Endangered Habitats League completely top-killed (Holmes 2006). Environmental Defense Center –– continued on page 4 Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) Environmental Water Caucus Foothill Conservancy Forests Forever © Tom G am an Friends of the Richmond Hills Friends of Spenceville Hills for Everyone Los Padres ForestWatch Lower Kings River Association Napa County Water, Forest and Oak Woodland Protection Committee Northern California Regional Land Trust Planning and Conservation League Redlands Conservancy Resource Conservation District of Santa Monica Mountains Rural Communities United Sacramento Tree Foundation Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment (SCOPE) Shasta Environmental Alliance Sierra Club Placer County Tejon Ranch Conservancy Tuleyome University of California Los Angeles Botanical Garden The four areas of support being developed for the Coalition are: 1) Research and advocacy updates (available at californiaoaks.org). 2) Information to educate and engage the public. 3) Tools for engaging in planning processes and educating opinion leaders. 4) Materials to inform local, regional, and state governmental agencies of the opportunities for and benets of protecting oak woodlands. Please contact Oaks Network Manager Angela Moskow, [email protected], for more information. 2 FALL-WINTER 2018 Studying oaks to guide RESOURCES management decisions PUBLICATIONS: • The report, How can we save our native trees? Drought and Invasive Beetle © Bryant Baker impacts on Wildland Trees and Shrub- lands in the Santa Monica Mountains, by Oaks Coalition member Santa Monica Resource Conservation District and NASA DEVELOP, is available at: rcdsmm.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/ 04/Droughtand-Invasive-Beetle-impacts- RCDSMM-1.2.18.pdf • Debris Flow Fact Sheet, published by California Department of Conservation, describes conditions that contribute to debris ow, provides an overview of types of ows, and provides advice for residents in the path of a debris ow: conservation.ca.gov/index/ Documents/CGS-Debris-Flow-Fact- Sheet.pdf INTERNET RESOURCES: • California Fire Science Consortium: Includes links to events and webinars, research and publications, data res- O aks on H appy Canyon graz ing allotm ent within the national forest. One such ources, and organizations: caresci.org/ by B ryant B aker, allotment is found in Happy Canyon, near • Center for Western Water and Water Conseration irecor, the spring-induced wildower haven of Extremes, University of California, San os Padres ForesWac Figueroa Mountain. A 5,000-acre grazing Diego, Scripps Institution of Ocean- area has been used by nearby ranchers for ography: Includes a wide range of links, Los Padres National Forest—a nearly decades, and there has been substantial including peer reviewed articles, book two million-acre forest dominated by concern for the recruitment and viability of chapters, and public reports: chaparral and oak woodland along the the oaks. cw3e.ucsd.edu/ Central and South Coasts—is home to 11 of Several studies pointed to poor oak • Fire Adapted Communities Learning California’s 20 oak species. Four of these— recruitment in the grazed areas of the Network: Develops, innovates, and uses blue oak, black oak, Engelmann oak, and allotment compared to the surrounding a network approach to disseminate re valley oak—have been designated as “Man- un-grazed area. In 2016, the Forest Service adaptation practices to improve com- agement Indicator Species” by the Forest nished environmental review for a project munity wildre resilience: Service in accordance with the 1976 that would authorize commercial grazing readaptednetwork.org/ National Forest Management Act. Forest on the allotment for a new 10-year term, • Sonoma Resource Conservation ocials are required to make adjustments to nding that there would be no signicant how they manage an area when monitoring District’s Fire Recovery web resources impacts. However, California Oaks Coali- indicates that these oak populations are include a Natural Resources Recovery tion member Los Padres ForestWatch declining. Guide, Best Management Practices for (lpfw.org)—a nonprot