The MCRCD Board of Directors regularly meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 2:00 PM at the Conference Room at the Agricultrual Commissioner’s Office located at 5009 Fairgrounds Road, Mariposa, CA 95338.
The next Board meeting will be held on Wednesday March 4th, 2020 at 2:00pm.
Anyone needing special assistance to attend the meeting should call the office at 209-966-0970 prior to the meeting.
The READY FOR WILDFIRE web-based app from CalFire has been updated!
Use the app to create a personalized wildfire readiness plan and learn active incident information.
This new tool will enhance your wildfire preparation experience! We understand that your living situation is unique and our app will help you personalize your wildfire preparation steps. You’ll start by taking a short survey that will identify what actions you’ll need to take. While completing these actions, you can save, and share, your progress. And be sure to stay up to date on incidents by signing up for text messages! Use the link below to get started!
On February 29, 2020, this version will no longer be supported on Google Play. To access the new app, visit www.readyforwildfire.org or go to Ready for Wildfire Web App
Per @NWSCPC, about a 55-60% chance of above average precipitation in CA, including much of #cencal during weeks 3-4, or from the end of this month through the 2nd week of March. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/2zt8VlTWYc
— NWS Hanford (@NWSHanford) February 17, 2020
February 15, 2020 – By Devii R. Rao, Acting San Benito County Director and Area Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor – Thanks to generous support from the newly formed California Cattle Council, UC Cooperative Extension will begin conducting a study to estimate how much fuel livestock consume across California and whether grazing decreases wildfire speed and intensity. Livestock grazing is the most widespread (and often the only feasible) management practice to reduce fire hazard from herbaceous fuels in California rangelands. Despite that, many public land management agencies do not allow livestock grazing on their lands. A study from 1983 found that the rate of combustion of grazed grasslands was reduced by 58%, but there is a dearth of research in this area. As we confront more frequent and devastating wildfires, we need better information about the effects of grazing on fire fuels in California.
We will use rangeland cattle movements from state brand inspection data, data from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Census, and County Crop Reports to estimate tons of forage (fuel) consumed by California livestock. We will combine these datasets and others to estimate if/how grazing influences how wildfire moves across the landscape. We expect that additional livestock grazing, especially at the wildland urban interface (WUI) could drastically reduce the speed and intensity of fire, providing firefighters far greater time to respond to wildfire. Results from our study will be available this summer.
Please feel free to contact Devii at drorao@ucanr.edu if you have questions about this project.
Rangeland
Source: UC ANR
February 3, 2020 – By Kim Ingram – Private forestland landowners have a unique opportunity to enjoy the economic, ecological and social benefits forests offer. The public also benefits from private forests as they play a critical role in the connectivity and functioning of the larger forest ecosystem.
According to the National Woodland Owner Survey, California family owned forest land covers 6.3 million acres with approximately 70% of owners living or working directly on this forest land. Owners cite the values of privacy and the physical beauty of the forest as the primary reasons for ownership.
The opportunity to preserve the health and diversity of their forests contributes to why landowners take action to protect their homes and forestlands with an eye to passing it on to future generations. Protection of forest resources through active management is what forest stewardship is all about.
A forest management plan is an owners guide to the what, where, why and how of active forest management. The plan clearly describes the current and desired conditions of the forest resources, what short and/or long-term goals the landowner has for the land, what management actions can be taken to achieve those goals, and what resources are needed for implementation.
Forestry and forest ecology learning session. (Photo: Kim Imgram)
A completed plan can also help the landowner meet grant requirements when collaborating with state and federal agencies for project funding. Yet for all that a forest management plan can do, less than 15% of private forest land owners have a plan. Through a contract with CalFire, and in association with Forest Landowners of California, USFS Region 5, the American Forest Foundation, California Association of Resource Conservation Districts, and the California Fire Safe Council, UC ANR is hosting a series of three-day workshops throughout northern California to help landowners develop a forest management plan to increase the resilience of their forestland and help them meet their ecological and economic management goals.
The workshops address landowner management objectives and planning, forest restoration, fuels reduction, project development, permitting, and cost-share opportunities. Participants will connect with other landowners and learn how to collect information to develop their own management plans. Participants who complete their plans will be eligible for a free visit by a Registered Professional Forester to assess its content and discuss next steps.
Upcoming workshops are:
March 7, 8 and 14 at Shasta College, Redding
April 25, 26 and May 9 at Government Center, Mariposa
June 27, 28 and July 11 at Blodgett Forest, Georgetown
Registration for the workshop costs $60. Lunches and materials will be provided. To register, please go to http://ucanr.edu/forestryworskhopregistration.
Measuring tree height using a Biltmore Stick. (Photo: Kim Ingram)
For more information on forestland stewardship, see: https://ucanr.edu/sites/forestry/Forest_Stewardship/
Source: UC ANR