CalVTP in Practice: Learning from Pile Burning and Broadcast Burning at Berkeley Forests' Grouse Ridge VTP Project Field Workshop
Friday, September 13th, 9:00am – 3:30pm
This in-person field workshop was an opportunity to learn about the integration of prescribed fire practices at Berkeley Forests' Grouse Ridge Research Forest. Participants increased their understanding of how to plan for pile & broadcast burning using lessons learned from the California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) at Grouse Ridge.
Ariel Roughton, Research Stations Manager for Berkeley Forests, discussed how the implementation of various fuels treatments at Grouse Ridge Research Forest support long-term research and forest health. She also covered permitting requirements and operational strategies used to implement treatments. Rob York, Co-Director of Berkeley Forests, focused on treatments and adaptive management research, discussing the longevity and maintenance of treatments, future plans, and monitoring. Brent McDermott, a private landowner, shared his experiences completing an Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) project on 106 acres and a broadcast burn on 50 acres, offering insights into the process and results. Thomas Smith, CAL FIRE Battalion Chief, offered guidance and resources on planning, permitting, and inspection. He also discussed the effectiveness of treatments from a wildfire perspective.
| Time | Item |
|---|---|
| 9:00am | Field workshop begins |
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Accomplishments and Goals at Grouse Ridge Research Forest |
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Site 1: Grouse Ridge Road Treatment Area Introduction to the Property and Project Treatments and Adaptive Management Research Operational Logistics Partnering with CAL FIRE Planning, Permitting, and Inspections Maintenance and the Future |
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Site 2: Mastication Boundary Area Introduction to Treament, Costs, and Contracting Future Treatment Sites |
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| 12:45pm |
Lunch |
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Site 3: Small Private Forest Property Introduction and History of the Property RPF and EQUIP Process for a Small Landowner Burning Operations Impacts on Treatments Wildfire Resilience Liability Reflections from a Private Landowner |
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| 3:30pm |
Field workshop ends |
Trainers:
Ariel Roughton, Research Stations Manager, Berkeley Forests
Ariel Roughton is a Registered Professional Forester and the Research Forest Manager at Berkeley Forests. She oversees management and research activity across Berkeley Forests’ six research forest locations covering the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada from Shasta to Tulare counties. She is responsible for writing and implementing Timber Harvest Plans, conducts and plans prescribed burn operations, determines stand treatments, and manages ongoing inventories.
Rob York, Co-Director, Berkeley Forests / Assistant Professor, Cooperative Extension UC ANR / Adjunct Associate Professor of Forestry, UC Berkeley
Robert York is an Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension and Associate Adjunct Professor of Forestry at UC Berkeley. He also serves as the Co-Director of Berkeley Forests. York obtained his Bachelor of Science in Forestry, a Master of Science in Forest Ecology, and a PhD in Forest Ecology, all at UC Berkeley. York's research focuses on forest science and management, particularly in exploring novel approaches to forest management treatments that are guided by ecosystems' disturbance regimes. Operating within UC Berkeley's research forests in the Sierra Nevada mountains, he applies research to management by extending information to a wide variety of stakeholders. York’s extension focus is on applying scientific results and exploring management approaches within an experimental context, striving to apply the principle of Active Adaptive Management to forest management. Currently, his work centers on prescribed fire for building resilience in young even-aged stands. He is also exploring forest harvesting regimes for restoration goals and the use of alternatives to herbicides in forestry.
Brent McDermott, Private Landowner
Brent McDermott, MD, has been practicing Emergency Medicine in Grass Valley since 1993. He is a private forest landowner with a 106-acre mixed conifer forest on the west side of the Sierra Nevada in Nevada County, at 5600 feet. A wildfire burned through the property in June of 2008. He has been working on forest improvements using federal funding through the EQIP program since 2016 and completed the project this year. Conditions were right for a controlled burn last year, and with the help of UCB forestry staff, he was able to complete a 50-acre broadcast burn in the fall. The land is less than a mile from the UCB Grouse Ridge Research Forest.
Thomas Smith, Battalion Chief, Nevada Yuba Placer Unit, CAL FIRE
Thomas Smith is a 20 year CAL FIRE employee who serves as the field battalion chief of the North Tahoe. Truckee Battalion. He is diversified career comes from aviation, vegetation management and prescribed fire along with suppression assignments from Lassen Modoc, to the coastal mountains of Mendocino and Monterey, to the Nevada Yuba Placer Unit. From his hometown of Truckee, Thomas understands the benefits of good land stewardship land management the use of prescribed fire and the benefits that prescribed fire provide before during and after wildfire. He has worked closely with private landowners and organizations throughout California collaborating good, healthy land stewardship on tens of thousands of acres.
Cordi Craig, Prescribed Fire Program Manager, Placer Resource Conservation District
Cordi Craig is the Prescribed Fire Program Manager at Placer Resource Conservation District (Placer RCD). She manages the Placer Prescribed Burn Association and trains private landowners how to successfully prep, plan, and implement low-complexity prescribed burns. Before working at Placer RCD, she was a wildland firefighter with the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and spent her off-seasons working for residential tree companies and freelance writing. She became a state-certified burn boss (CARX) in October 2022 and continues to learn from leaders, volunteers, and community members, both on and off the fireground. She enjoys therapeutic pile burning with her blue nose Pitbull, Miss Piggy.
