Cambria Pines Ecological Reserve Restoration and Vegetation Treatment Project
Cambria, California
January 16th, 2025, 10:00am – 4:00pm
Link to Field Training Registration
This field training is an opportunity for participants to increase their understanding of a CalVTP project in the Coastal Zone.
Spencer Gordon, Project Manager at the Upper Salinas – Las Tablas Resource Conservation District, will discuss the over arching objectives associated with this project, the treatment types and associated acreage, the importance of outreach in Cambria and how it relates to this specific project, and rare plant survey and report prior to the project along with env. worker training. Keith Seydel, Rancho Marino Reserve Director, University of California, will provide an overview of the site location. Dave Erickson, Forester I - San Luis Obispo Unit, CAL FIRE, will dive into how forest health and vegetation management projects can meet both ecological and fire management goals and objectives. Riley McFarland, Senior Associate Forester at ARC Forestry, will discuss the challenges and successes associated with implementing forest health fuels reduction treatments in the Coastal Zone, the catalysts for doing so, and all while ensuring both regulatory and ethical compliance. Ben Pavan, Firestorm Crew 4 Superintendent, will explain the three treatment types used and the specs for this project. Dave Hacker, Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisor) at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, will talk about the total planning and implementation costs per acre to date for this case study. Devin Best, Executive Director at the Upper Salinas – Las Tablas Resource Conservation District, will cover the role of the RCD as a whole in SLO county and how the RCD plays a particular role with forest health and fire resiliency in Cambria.
There is poison oak in and around the areas we are walking. We are walking off trail in uneven, unstable, and steep situations.
| Time | Item |
|---|---|
| 10:00am | Field training begins |
| Keith Seydel: UC Reserve Introduction and Site Overview | |
| Spencer Gordon: General Overview of Project | |
| Devin Best: RCD Regional Effort and Role in Project | |
| Site 1 | |
| Riley McFarland: Projection Implementation | |
| Dave Erickson: Forest Health Treatments | |
| Ben Pavan: Different Types of Fuels Treatments | |
|
Spencer Gordon: Community Outreach |
|
| Site 2 | |
| Spencer Gordon and Riley McFarland: Sensitive Resource Considerations | |
| Dave Erickson: Forest Health Treatments | |
| 12:50pm | Lunch |
| Site 3 | |
| Ben Pavan: Crew Learning curve | |
| Riley McFarland: Dynamic Treatment Approaches | |
| Spencer Gordon: Managing Stakeholders and Contractors | |
| Conor Phelan: Science in the Rancho Marino Forest: Using long term (20+ year) data from plots within the Monterey Pine forest as a baseline for before/after treatment comparisons | |
| Site 4 | |
| Dave Hacker: Reality Check: Costs and Time | |
| Spencer Gordon: Cost | |
| Riley McFarland: Providing Regional Impetus | |
| Devin Best: RCD Moving Forward in Forestry | |
| 4:00pm | Field training ends |
Link to presentation abstracts
Trainers:
Spencer Gordon, Project Manager, Upper Salinas – Las Tablas Resource Conservation District
Spencer earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Cruz, focusing on restoration ecology, and a master’s degree in Environmental Science and Management with a concentration in forestry from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Prior to his role as project manager at the Upper Salinas-Las Tablas Resource Conservation District, he gained valuable experience with California State Parks in the Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo Coast Districts. As a field crew boss, Spencer trained and mentored seasonal staff in efforts to protect, restore, and enhance California’s extraordinary biodiversity. His deep appreciation for natural history and the outdoors has been instrumental in his career. Through various roles in natural resources, Spencer has acquired extensive knowledge and hands-on experience in native plant restoration, invasive species management, biological monitoring, trail work, native seed collection, nursery management, and prescribed fire. As a project manager at the RCD, he oversees grant management, including planning, permitting, contract supervision, and administration of various conservation projects. Spencer is currently pursuing his California Burn Boss certification and working with local fire practitioners to establish a prescribed burn association in San Luis Obispo county.
Keith Seydel, Rancho Marino Reserve Director, University of California
Keith was a research scientist at the University of CA, Santa Barbara for 25 years before becoming the reserve director at Rancho Marino in 2018. He is an ecologist with many years experience in the marine environment and has spent the last few years learning about the California coastal prairie and Monterey Pine forest.
Dave Erickson, Forester I - San Luis Obispo Unit, CAL FIRE
Dave is a CA Registered Professional Forester, working as a Forester I for CAL FIRE SLU. He has a Masters in Natural Resources and Restoration Ecology from University of Idaho and a double major from UCSB in Film and Geography. He has worked in conservation, fire, and resource management for 15 years.
Riley McFarland, Senior Associate Forester, ARC Forestry
Riley McFarland graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry and Natural Resources, concentrating in Watershed Management and Hydrology. Through his adolescence, Riley frequently explored the Sierra Nevada Foothills and the American River Canyon near his home in Roseville, California, eventually attending Sierra College where his passion for natural resource management took root. Upon completion of his B.S. degree at Cal Poly, Riley began working as a forestry technician in the redwoods of Swanton Pacific Ranch, providing the foundation for his current role in multiple projects across the Santa Cruz Mountains and San Luis Obispo County.
Riley serves as a project lead on large-scale forest health fuels reduction projects, conducting operations supervision and regulatory compliance under various permitting mechanisms. Riley’s specialties include forest inventory and trend monitoring, archaeological and cultural resource surveys, streamflow assessment, Field Maps and ArcGIS analysis, document preparation and review, technical report writing, critical thinking, and agency communications. Riley is currently pursuing his credential as a Registered Professional Forester.
Ben Pavan, Firestorm Crew 4 Superintendent
Been has been with Firestorm working in fire suppression, and fuels reduction for 10 years. His qualifications with the company include type 3 burn boss, type 5 incident commander. He is also a qualified Lead instructor for their Training classes that Firestorm Facilitates. S-190, S-212, S-130 are some of the courses he teaches with Firestorm. He is a veteran who served in the Army before getting into private fire and lives in Chico Ca.
Dave Hacker, Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisor), California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Dave Hacker is a Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisor) at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, overseeing the Region 4 Coastal Lands and Wildlife Management Program. Dave manages a 60,000-acre network of Ecological Reserves and Wildlife Areas, including the Cambria Pines Ecological Reserve. Dave earned a B. S. in Forestry and Natural Resources from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He has worked on a wide range of aspects of environmental planning, plant ecology, wildlife biology, habitat conservation, and land management on the Central Coast for the last 27 years. His motivation in that work is conserving and restoring the Central Coast’s diverse habitats and viable, native wildlife populations for their intrinsic values and public enjoyment. Public land is the best land. When not at work he is with his family and/or on some type of bike, board(s), or hike, on any suitable substrate.
Devin Best, Executive Director, Upper Salinas – Las Tablas Resource Conservation District
Devin has a degree in Ethnobotany from Humboldt State University. He started his career working in the Americorps Watershed Stewards Project in Northern California. Following his time in Northern California, he moved back to San Luis Obispo County and worked for the California Conservation Corps as a GIS Supervisor and then for the California Department of Fish Wildlife as an Environmental Specialist. He continued to build upon his experience in natural resource management and biological population monitoring and modeling in the Pacific Northwest, as well as developing his skills in watershed restoration, permit coordination, and non-profit leadership. Devin is a strong advocate for community stewardship, collaboration, and ecological restoration.
Devin’s role with Upper Salinas – Las Tablas Resource Conservation District is to align public and private stakeholders goals to federal and state initiatives; finding opportunities to improve processes to create a pipeline of projects for ecosystem health and community resiliency. As the Executive Director, Devin works with local communities, resource agencies, and regulatory agencies for win-win solutions, creating unique opportunities to bring innovative approaches to conservation. These include planning, permitting mechanisms, and funding for large-scale regional programs down to individual projects.
