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VENTANA WILDERNESS WATCH ventanawild.org Newsletter of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance Volume 17 Number 2 I Fall 2016 Soberanes Fire I August 8, 2016 Photograph by Keith Vandevere I xasauantoday.com The Convergence Special Issue The Fire’s of Undermanagement The Soberanes Fire Impacts and Overuse on VWA Programs Protecting the Big Sur Backcountry VENTANA WILDERNESS WATCH I Volume 17 Number 2 I FALL 2016 VENTANA WILDERNESS WATCH Newsletter of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance Executive Director’s Message So much has happened since our last newsletter. Trail crews resurrected major backcountry arteries, including the long-lost South Fork Trail. The VWA relocated its base of operations and we reimagined our website. Big Sur was subjected to an unprecedented level of sum- PO Box 506 I Santa Cruz, California 95061 mer visitation. The transfer (831) 423-3191 I ventanawild.org of public lands to state and The mission of the private interests became an Ventana Wilderness Alliance official component of the GOP is to protect, preserve and restore platform. Ringleaders of the the wilderness qualities and absurd Malheur National biodiversity of the public lands within California’s northern Wildlife Refuge occupation Santa Lucia Mountains embarked on a journey and Big Sur coast. through the criminal justice BOARD of DIRECTORS system. But mostly, we Tom Hopkins, President watched helplessly as the David Jacobs, CPA, Treasurer Soberanes Fire spread from Maria Ferdin, Secretary Garrapata State Park to Betsy MacGowan, Director-At-Large Al Budris, Director-At-Large surrounding communities, Greg Meyer, Director-At-Large destroying homes and scorching private, county and state lands before establishing a Elizabeth Thomas, Director-At-Large stronghold within the Los Padres National Forest. STAFF Mike Splain, Executive Director In this issue of Ventana Wilderness Watch, we’ll take a long hard look at the fire, how we Richard Popchak, Communications and got here and how it’s affecting critical stewardship programs and advocacy efforts. Then we’ll Development Director make an evolutionary detour and examine some ecological effects of our Mediterranean fire Amy Patten, Administrative Assistant regime on local plants and wildlife. Most importantly, we’ll honor the volunteers who are out Toan Do, Youth in Wilderness there making a difference for public lands and map out some ways we can all bolster their Program Manager Trevor Willits, important work. You may notice some new faces and unfamiliar names in the pages ahead; Stewardship Program Coordinator we hope you’ll join us in welcoming three new VWA staff members. And be sure to check out NEWSLETTER PRODUCTION the back cover for some exciting news on how the organization is scaling its capacity to meet Editor: Richard Popchak the significant challenges facing our beloved Big Sur backcountry. Design: Lynn Piquett Printing: Community Printers, Santa Cruz As black oak foliage fades to orange, seasonal streams flow once again and fire-scarred manzanita sprouts anew, we look longingly at maps of our favorite wilderness getaways. Printed on 30% post-consumer waste recycled paper with Agri-based inks. At this writing, the entire Los Padres National Forest Monterey Ranger District is under strict fire closure (see centerfold map). Much of the Forest will likely remain so well into 2017. Now, more than ever, the wilderness needs us to honor our pledge to be visitors who ON THE COVER do not remain. Too many of us have left more than footprints; massive firefighting efforts In early August, have blackened slopes and scraped ridgetops bare. The land deserves an intermission. Keith Vandevere, a lifelong explorer In the meantime, it’s up to us to advocate, educate and activate every resource at our of the Ventana region, was disposal for the immense restoration effort ahead. offered a seat on a helicopter flying over the Thanks for keeping it wild, Soberanes Fire. He snapped this photo- graph with his cell phone while approaching the Ventana Wilderness from the north. A blackened Green Ridge, where many homes were lost, is in the foreground. View more of Keith’s photos along with week-by-week fire updates at his blog, Xasáuan Today, an enlightened source of Mike Splain I [email protected] 2 information regarding the Ventana region and the historic Soberanes Fire. The Convergence I by Mike Splain In the winter of 1974, vigorous snowfall blanketed the high country Nowadays the Los Padres National Forest Plan dictates that of the northern Santa Lucia Mountains. Branches shattered under every wildfire must be aggressively suppressed. In many cases the weight and accumulated beneath ancient hardwoods. Rain was the heavy-handedness of suppression efforts has wrought more scarce in the years that followed. When lightning made landfall in destruction than fire itself. Cabins, ranches and subdivisions August of 1977, these tinder-dry ladder fuels ignited amid heavy encroach on the wildland urban interface, introducing invasive winds and a “perfect storm” ensued. The fire burned for weeks, plants and accidental ignitions that further interrupt natural fire until nearly 178,000 acres had been consumed. The Marble Cone regimes. Five years of extreme drought have ravaged the landscape. Wildland Fire became the largest in California’s recorded history, Meanwhile, visitation to the Big Sur region has increased dramati- at least for a time. cally, despite an ever-diminishing budget for visitor education and Lightning, though rare on the central coast, also sparked the 1985 law enforcement. Rat Creek-Gorda,1999 Kirk Complex and 2008 Basin Complex fires. The culmination of this tragic convergence came to fruition in Following these massive events, the vast majority of the Ventana July, when someone decided to build and then abandon a campfire Wilderness was burned over. In some cases the landscape was in Garrapata State Park. In the days since, the central coast has dramatically altered. Nevertheless, within a given acre, fire endured the costliest wildfire suppression effort in US history. generally visited only once or twice in three decades. Topography The Soberanes Fire will burn until it is extinguished by autumn and vegetation predictably influenced burn patterns, while wind rains. In the meantime it will continue devouring suppression and weather had a randomizing effect. Across plant communities dollars by the millions — dollars that could have been spent in the Big Sur backcountry, the regularity of fire’s recurrence (fire proactively managing our precious public lands — dollars that return interval) was as varied as the landscape itself. could have prevented this tragedy. Prior to human intervention, upland conifers in areas like Big We can do better. We can train and equip Volunteer Wilderness Pines, North Coast Ridge and Pine Ridge endured frequent low Rangers and Trailhead Volunteers to conduct patrols, educate intensity fires. Here, an estimated 20 years elapsed between visitors, and report violations. We can spread the word about electrical storms that torched underbrush, favored mature Leave No Trace principles, we can emphasize that camping doesn’t ponderosa pine and incense-cedar, and exposed optimal seedling equal campfire, and we can practice what we preach. But only habitat. Mid-elevation hardwoods faced variable intervals, depen- agency boots on the ground will prevent a repeat of the disastrous dent on microclimate. But in coastal scrub and chaparral shrub Soberanes Fire. We must relentlessly demand that elected officials lands, fire return intervals were often 30 to 150 years. Shrub land sufficiently fund agencies like California State Parks and the fires tended toward outright stand replacement, characterized by US Forest Service. The Big Sur backcountry deserves no less. ■ stump sprouting or complete renewal from a well stocked seed bank. 3 Aggressive backfiring operations during the 2008 Basin Complex eliminated much of the upland conifer forest at Big Pines. VENTANA WILDERNESS WATCH I Volume 17 Number 2 I FALL 2016 Rangers on Patrol I by Richard Popchak On September 2, 2016, US Forest Service Supervisor Robert Baird fire rings and packed out over 600 pounds of trash.We simply signed a Closure Order in response to the growing Soberanes Fire. can’t thank these volunteers enough! This administrative act shut down public access to the entire With ever-increasing visitation and diminished agency capacity to Monterey Ranger District of Los Padres National Forest. The engage the public, the VWR program is more important than ever. purpose of the closure is to ensure that members of the public are It offers direct proof that, with vision, collaboration and good not injured within the fire perimeter. It also allows the scorched old-fashioned hard work, we are not powerless in the face of landscape to begin its healing process and reduces the potential escalating overuse in Big Sur. The VWA will continue to advocate for another human-caused wildfire. for appropriate levels of public education and law enforcement. Within days it became apparent that many visitors were blatantly disregarding the “Forest Closed” signs and barriers placed at trailheads. Not only were people illegally entering the forest, some visitors were having campfires and using stoves in violation of Level IV Fire Restrictions. The need for public contact and education was obvious. The VWA petitioned the Forest Service to permit uniformed Volunteer Wilderness Rangers (VWRs) to patrol the front and backcountry outside the fire perimeter. The agency agreed that this was necessary and established ground rules governing where the Rangers could patrol and what work they could perform. On VWR Beth Benoit removing VWR Esperanza Hernandez about to September 10, volunteers were back in action performing this barbed wire at Buckeye Camp. patrol the Salmon Creek and Spruce essential public service. Creek trails. THANKS One would think that the hundreds of millions of dollars spent to the following donors for making the VWR program possible: suppressing the Soberanes Fire would spark immediate and profound action by elected officials, public land management Fernandez Pave the Way Foundation agencies and the community.