WEDNESDAY - FULL DAY TOURS
Blodgett Forest Tour
Wednesday, October 25 • 8 am - 3:30 pm
3 CFEs Category 1 • 3.25 ISA Certified Arborist • .81 ESA CEUs
Blodgett Forest Research Station is one of six Berkeley Forests research properties and located in the mixed conifer region of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Blodgett is managed to improve the understanding and management of mixed conifer forest via research, demonstration, and education. At this year’s convention, we invite attendees to take a 3.5 mile walking tour of the forest and explore a variety of onsite management and research projects focused on even- and uneven-aged silviculture, fire, and fire surrogates such as mechanical treatments, and more. A portion of Blodgett was impacted by the 2022 Mosquito Fire and will offer participants the opportunity to look at the effects of different management alternatives on wildfire severity, recent salvage operations, and reforestation efforts.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the tour, participants will be able to:
1. Discuss forest management alternatives and challenges of mixed conifer forests.
2. Observe the results of recent research conducted on Blodgett Forest.
3. Explore the effects of different forest management alternatives on wildfire effects.
4. Identify challenges and solutions of post-wildfire forest management.
Recommended/Required Clothing/Gear: Appropriate for weather; long pants, hat, and sunscreen suggested. Close-toed shoes or boots are required.
Walking Conditions: Soft surfaces (mulched, gravel, grass, sand) and rugged surfaces (forest floor, narrow paths, rock)
Hike Difficulty Grading: Moderate: Suitable for beginners (3.5-mile walking tour, moderate incline with some steeper sections)
East Bay Hills Vegetation Management & Fire Risk Reduction Urban Forestry Tour
Wednesday, October 25 • 7:45 am - 4:30 pm
4 CFEs Category 1 • 4 ISA Certified Arborist • 1 ESA CEUs
The San Francisco-Oakland urban area has suffered destructive wildfires since the early 20th century, resulting in loss of life and property. In the last decade, there has been an increasingly urgent effort to reduce the size and intensity of fires and the damage they cause in this urban area. On this field tour, participants will visit three locations where actions are being implemented, such as tree thinning, vegetation management, shaded fuel breaks, prescribed burning, and roadside management of vegetation for emergency egress.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the tour, participants will be able to:
1. Discuss various methods of forest management that can ameliorate forest fire risk in densely populated and regulated urban environments.
2. Articulate the need for managing forest vegetation along evacuation routes.
3. Describe the role that non-native tree species, especially eucalyptus, play in California ecosystems and the risks they bring to the urban environment.
Recommended/Required Clothing/Gear: Appropriate for weather; long pants, hat, and sunscreen suggested. Close-toed shoes or boots are required.
Walking Conditions: Soft surfaces (mulched, gravel, grass, sand), hard surfaces (paved, boardwalks, concrete), AND rugged surfaces (forest floor, narrow paths, rock)
Hike Difficulty Grading: Easy: Suitable for anyone who enjoys walking (under 3 miles, mostly level or with a slight incline)
Urban Forestry in Sacramento - The City of Trees
Wednesday, October 25 • 8 am - 3:45 pm
4.5 CFEs Category 1 • 4.75 ISA Certified Arborist • 1.9 ESA CEUs
See the City of Trees and learn about the management behind the scenes! On this tour of Sacramento’s cityscape, attendees will meet with federal, state, and local urban forestry leaders and urban forestry nonprofit organizations to learn about current management challenges and opportunities. Topics will include maintaining the existing urban tree canopy, urban wood utilization, and expanding or improving the urban tree canopy in disadvantaged neighborhoods. In addition, the American River Parkway, a county-managed park, is a major recreational and natural corridor that runs east-west through Sacramento. Its management is a challenge in balancing the needs of wildlife and recreation and maintaining water quality.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the tour, participants will be able to:
1. Discuss local urban forest management in the Sacramento area.
2. Identify the challenges and opportunities for urban wood waste.
3. Summarize California’s Climate Investment program and how it is used to improve urban forests in California.
Recommended/Required Clothing/Gear: Appropriate for weather; long pants, hat, and sunscreen suggested. Close-toed shoes or boots are required.
Walking Conditions: Soft surfaces (mulched, gravel, grass, sand) AND hard surfaces (paved, boardwalks, concrete
Hike Difficulty Grading: Easy: Suitable for anyone who enjoys walking (under 3 miles, mostly level or with a slight incline)
Caldor Fire
Wednesday, October 25 • 8 am - 4 pm
2.5 CFEs Category 1 • 2.5 ISA Certified Arborist • .68 ESA CEUs
The 2021 Caldor Fire started in mid-August and was fully contained in late October. In total, the fire burned about 222,000 acres, destroying over 1,000 structures, and causing the evacuation of over 50,000 residents, including the city of South Lake Tahoe. It remains a rare fire in that it started on the west side of the Sierra Nevada mountains and burned over Echo Summit onto the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Post-fire evaluations indicated 53% of the burned area resulted in moderate or high soil burn severity. But in the midst of this wildfire, successes were seen in mitigating fire effects as a result of vegetation management efforts prior to the fire. This tour will explore how work done before the fire affected burn conditions, made evacuations easier, and control possible.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the tour, participants will be able to:
1. Observe low and high severity fire effects in Sierra Nevada Mountains forest types;
2. Observe the effects of pre-fire treatments on fire effects and fire suppression effectiveness;
3. Name the steps used by private and federal landowners to manage the post-fire environment on this large wildfire;
4. Examine current research on megafires in California and the western US.
Recommended/Required Clothing/Gear: Appropriate for weather; long pants, hat, and sunscreen suggested. Close-toed shoes or boots are required.
Walking Conditions: Hard surfaces (paved, boardwalks, concrete), AND rugged surfaces (forest floor, narrow paths, rock)
Hike Difficulty Grading: Easy: Suitable for anyone who enjoys walking (under 3 miles, mostly level or with a slight incline)
Note: This tour will occur at higher elevations (~ 7000-8000 feet). Please be aware for those that are sensitive to altitudinal changes.