In recent years, California has been experiencing an increase in large fires due to a combination of factors, including drought conditions and a history of fire suppression. We saw this trend continue this summer with the Carr and Mendocino Complex Fires and even more recently this November with the Camp Fire. Fires tend to disproportionately […]
When driving north on highway 89 toward Burney, looking out at miles of charred hills and dead trees that make up what is now the footprint of the Eiler Fire, you likely question if and how the forest might recover from such a severe burn. The Eiler Fire burned 32,416 acres of the Lassen National […]
Last month I attended a meeting of the Burney-Hat Creek Community Forest and Watershed Group (BHCCFWG, or BHC for short). It was held at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory, a small building and an array of telescope dishes arranged seemingly haphazardly in the valley. The skeletons of burned trees on the surrounding mountains barely visible […]
Last month, Lauren and I attended the International Symposium on Society and Natural Resource Management (ISSRM) in Utah, where we presented preliminary findings from our research with the California Department of Conservation (DOC) on the Statewide Watershed Program. ISSRM is an annual gathering of professionals and students working at the intersection of social science and […]
Today we are at the East side of Jewel Lake. It is fairly cold and windy today but we are building a camp fire. It is nice to hear the wind through the trees and the birds chirping. I tried to go fishing this morning but the fish weren’t biting.. Other than that, it feels […]
I am part of the trail maintenance crew at P-Crew. Our crew, The Cariboots, is split into two groups: trail maintenance, and cross-cut. The trail maintenance group does brush and tread work, which involves removing manzanita brush and redefining trails. A day in P-Crew look like this; going to the cash (the place we hid […]
Throughout my time at P-Crew, I’ve discovered the beauty of nature. At home, I’m a stay in-doors type of person over the weekends and during breaks. During that time, you can expect to see me just in front of my computer gaming my life away. Now, I see what I’ve been missing, nature has so […]
As my time with P-Crew has passed by, my mental health has changed a whole lot from the me two weeks ago. Let’s say that it is June 17, 2018. On this day, I had to leave my house for a couple hours so people could look at it, however I still spent the rest […]
Once again, it’s that wonderful time of year. The early sunrise and late sunset, the subtle breeze giving brief moments of coolness in the exhausting heat, the vibrant shades of green punctuating the views of beautiful mountain ranges, students turning in their final exams, and families planning vacations (or planning to send their kids away!). […]
Ever driven down a Forest Service road toward your favorite spot in the woods, and wondered what would happen if a fire came through and changed this landscape? If you live in the Northern Sierra, it doesn’t take much of an imagination. It seems almost any summer, you can stand outside our office in Taylorsville […]
