Category: Chapter Updates

September 2015 meeting, Fresno, CA. The first of the fallwinter meetings was attended by chapter members, Reedley College staff and students plus special guests from the California Board of Forestry and CAL FIRE.

Several speakers addressed the current state of affairs with the drought in our area. Matt Meadows, PG&E, gave an overview of the results from his snow surveys. The Sierra Nevada snowpack was the lowest in recorded history, affecting all the rivers. Ground water reserves also are dwindling. This has severely limited the amount of hydroelectric power generated this year. Predictions are that the region may be in for a good “El Niño” rainy season, but we will have to wait and see.

Diane Savin-Dukleth, USFS, reported on the huge Rough Fire, which burned over 151,623 acres. It was lightning caused from a small late July storm in a remote area that has some of the steepest and most rugged ground in the country. Due to the extremely dry fuel conditions and insect killed trees, the fire was so intense and unpredictable that it appeared unstoppable at times. It burned areas that normally wouldn’t carry a fire, crossing the Kings River and several roads.

Retired USFS silviculturist, Mark Smith, reviewed the results from his field work looking at restoration of Sierra National Forest areas that had large forest fires in the past. He noted that forests that were commercially thinned over five years ago have less insect-related tree mortality. The SCE managed land and the areas thinned under the Dinkey Collaborative projects also are holding their own. Smith suggests that the High Sierra Chapter host a statewide summer NorCal/SoCal SAF meeting next year to study and showcase these areas.

SCE forester and chapter chairman, Ryan Stewart, spoke about the scope of the insect killed trees on federal and private land in the Shaver Lake region. This unprecedented insect kill leaves few alternatives to land owners. The volume of merchantable sized dead trees is so immense that it is beyond the capacity of the remaining saw mills in this part of the state. He said funding may be available to help land owners remove dead material.

November 2015 meeting, Fresno, CA. The guest speaker for our November meeting was Dr. Rob York, manager of Blodgett Research Station. Rob spoke on, “High-grading and low-grading: Pitfalls in using diameter thresholds for marking.” This is a long-term study that documents significant negative effects of large tree removal (high grading) on long term productivity and species composition in a productive mixed confer forest.

FCD

Forest Conservation Days 2015 was all set to go for September 21–25, 2015, at Sequoia Lake YMCA Camp, but was cancelled due to the Rough Fire. Diane Savin-Dukleth, the main FCD coordinator, had booked over 1,200 students from the greater Fresno area to come.

We cancelled FCD for fear of exposing the students to the smoke. But, by the end it was lucky the firefighters could save the camp at all. The fire burned very close to the camp, and if conditions had been right, all could have been lost, and we would need to look for another location to house FCD.

Don Dukleth, Diane Savin-Dukleth and other High Sierra Chapter members who have been the main FCD coordinators are looking to the future, hoping to pass the torch on to new volunteers for 2016. This transition is crucial if FCD is to continue.

Roles that need to be filled: school contact/booking coordination, volunteer recruitment (station staff, school bus greeters, etc.), food management (buy and set up lunch fixings), tour guide training and supply coordinator. Don and Diane will help set a date for 2016 and will assist the new coordinators on all the details to run FCD. Please contact Diane Savin-Dukleth and/or Thomas Catchpole to help take over the planning jobs of FCD. Thanks again to all the volunteers who helped in 2014 and were prepared to help this fall. For FCD information go online to: www.norcalsaf.org/FCD.html.

Awards

Chapter member Don Dukleth is this year’s District 3 Presidential Field Forester Award recipient. Congratulations Don! Don received the award at the national Society of American Foresters (SAF) convention in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was selected by his peers for the award in District 3 (California, Nevada, and Hawaii). Don works for Southern California Edison Company (SCE) as a forest ecologist.

The Cal SAF Student Chapter/Forestry Club kicked off the semester with the return of a handful of our seniors from their semesters abroad and the addition of some passionate transfer students. The club reunited, and with some added global perspectives, we started on a strong foot with lots of beer and beans at our fall Bean Feed.

We then prepared for the annual Society of American Foresters National Convention. The financial boost from last year’s very successful Christmas tree sale allowed us to send 19 members to the convention in Baton Rouge. We all set off to Louisiana ready to learn about forestry in the south and to ace the Quiz Bowl. Although we did not take home the grand Quiz Bowl trophy, we did make it into the top four. And, of course, we accomplished our goal of learning about southern U.S. forestry.

We are now in the midst of the 2015 Christmas tree cut and sale, with hearts full of hope that it will not dump snow on our chosen cut date. As always, we are very grateful that Sierra Pacific Industries generously allows us to thin on their land.

Our logging sports team is at a peak enrollment, with over 20 members. We recently attended the California Conclave, where we had quite the showing. A first place prize went to member Ben Rushakoff in the nerdiest-of-nerd events, traverse. We also did well in women’s hard hit, women’s double buck, women’s axe throw and women’s obstacle pole. Our practice site, nestled within Russell Experimental Forest, is improving every week as the team works to build new facilities.

Ten students from Humboldt State University’s SAF student club attended the 2015 SAF Convention in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The students enthusiastically participated in many of the conference events. The group included the Quiz Bowl team, who competed in loud Hawaiian shirts. They also fielded a team for the geocaching competition.

Three students, Elektra Mathews-Novelli, Daniel Kidwell and Karl Peterson, received scholarships as Diversity Scholars, representing HSU at multiple Diversity Scholars events. Elektra also participated in the education plenary on Tuesday, November 3, providing a student’s perspective on forestry education to an audience of several hundred. Students Frank Heide and Corey Humphrey presented a poster on the politics of the biomass industry in California.

The group rounded out the trip to Baton Rouge with sightseeing in New Orleans. Malia Ortiz, SAF student chapter president, said, “My experience at the conference was eye-opening. I got to travel to a totally unknown place. I learned about forestry in other parts of the U.S., but also the cultural heritage of the South.”

We continue to hold meetings and participate in educational opportunities. Our attendance at meetings ranges from 15-20 normally.

Meetings

August: In August, the Chapter participated at the Nevada County Fair forestry exhibit. The effort was a success, as always, with daily activities for children and an interactive forest products game display. Special thanks to Joanne Drummond for heading up this effort!

In addition, the Chapter hosted the Northern California SAF summer meeting in Auburn. By all accounts, the meeting and tours were well received.

September: The Chapter held the monthly meeting at the USFS Institute of Forest Genetics in Placerville. Rob York spoke to us about some of his research at the Blodgett Forest in regards to various types of large tree harvesting and associated after-effects on species composition and productivity. Rob’s presentation sparked quite a bit of discussion.

October: October found the Chapter in Auburn to hear Steve Eubanks speak about small biomass energy development. This is a very timely and important topic, given all the recent policy and discussion along this topic area.

November: The November meeting was in Sacramento. We hosted Dr. Joanne FitesKauffman of the USFS. She spoke about her research into the effects of forest treatments on fire burn severity.

In December, the Chapter does not hold a meeting due to the holidays. We also do not have a meeting in January, as Northern California SAF will be having their winter meeting in Santa Rosa.

As the outgoing chapter chair, I hope to make the transition for our new chapter chair, Jon Jue, as smooth as possible. Jon has been our vice-chair, and will do an excellent job. We also have a new chapter secretary in Miles Heaton. Miles has recently moved into the Chapter’s area. Thanks to Miles for stepping up! The Chapter is still seeking a new vice-chair, as well as a treasurer.