Forest Health and Fire Resiliency on the Jenner Headlands: An overview of forest management for landowners and communities
June 8, 2024, 9:00am - 5:40pm
This field workshop was an opportunity to learn about forest health and fire resiliency at the Jenner Headlands Preserve. Participants increased their understanding of vegetation management and fuels reduction through lessons learned at the preserve.
Ryan Berger, Preserve Manager of the Jenner Headlands, provided an overview of the site's natural resource management practices and goals. Luke Farmer, Regional Director of Sonoma Coast and Eel River Canyon Preserves for The Wildlands Conservancy, also covered natural resource management, focusing on forestry, fuels reduction, and future restoration plans, including the CalVTP. Fred Euphrat, Ph.D., a Registered Professional Forester, discussed the historical evolution of the preserve, tracing its origins from logging to its present-day status as a place of stewardship. Anthony Macias, Cultural and Tribal Preservation Officer of the Kashia Pomo Tribal Administration, spoke to the Native perspective in relation to the site, focusing fire history. Brook Edwards, Park Program Supervisor from Sonoma County Regional Parks, addressed managing and rebalancing fuel loads at the Jenner Headlands to protect the redwood forests. Marshall Tuberville, Battalion Chief for CALFIRE's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, discussed the lessons learned from burning in a ridge-top forested shaded fuel break, the effectiveness of mechanical treatments and prescribed burning as management tools, and the resulting forest structure changes. Kim Batchelder, Vegetation Management Coordinator at Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, reviewed funding resources, collaborations across agencies, and conservation efforts. Jason Wells, Director of Forestry at Sonoma RCD, covered RCD roles, grants, offered guidance on next steps, and highlighted RCDs as essential resources for similar efforts. Judy Rosales, Executive Director of Coast Ridge Forest Council, discussed the importance of community engagement in conservation efforts.
| Time | Item |
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| 9:00am | Field workshop begins |
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Site 1: Duncans Mills Introductions Site Overview |
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Site 2: East Ridge of Jenner Headlands Preserve Native Perspective Regional Fire Overview Land Management Planning Native Fire History Prescribed Burning History |
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| 12:45pm | Lunch |
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Site 3: Timber Harvest Plan and Restoration Forestry Area at Jenner Headlands Preserve History of the Land Timber Harvest Plan Overview Forest Treatments |
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Site 4: Red Barn at Jenner Headlands Preserve Conservation Work Community Element Resources and Relationships |
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| 5:40pm |
Field workshop ends |
Link to presentation abstracts
Trainers:
Luke Farmer, Regional Director of Sonoma Coast and Eel River Canyon Preserves, The Wildlands Conservancy
Luke is a Sonoma County native who has worked for The Wildlands Conservancy (TWC) in various roles since 2015. He currently serves as Regional Director for The Sonoma Coast and Eel River Canyon Preserves, managing more than 40,000 acres across 4 counties in Northern California. He works with staff, agencies, and partners to enhance the natural resources and recreational experience on these incredible landscapes. This includes forest management, grassland management, watershed restoration, biological monitoring, prescribed fire, infrastructure development, and the establishment of new public access opportunities.
Ryan Berger, Preserve Manager, Jenner Headlands Preserve, The Wildlands Conservancy
Ryan has dedicated the past 10+ years to non-profit conservation work in the northern California region. He is currently the Sonoma Coast Preserves Manager (Jenner Headlands and Estero Americano Coast) for The Wildlands Conservancy (TWC). Ryan works collaboratively with staff, partners, and community members to provide a unique public access experience as well as steward the preserves’ bountiful natural resources focusing on forest, coastal prairie and watershed management practices. Prior to coming on board at TWC in 2022, Ryan was a Marine Ecologist with the Farallon Program for Point Blue Conservation Science leading long term data collection and stewardship of the island’s natural resources (2010-2017). From 2018-2022 he was the Associated Director of Field Operations and Response for The Marine Mammal Center focusing efforts on systems and processes to safely rescue sick, injured or deceased marine mammals. Ryan resides on the preserve in Jenner with his blue heeler Rio and when not working can be found exploring the preserve and everything the Russian River and coast have to offer.
Fred Euphrat, Ph.D, Registered Professional Forester
Fred Euphrat, Ph.D, has been a licensed forester since 1989, presently consulting with non-profits including Pepperwood and Jenner Headlands. He has taught at Berkeley, Humboldt, SF State and for the US BLM, is an adjunct professor at Santa Rosa Jr. College and will begin working at Sonoma State for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The upcoming class is Forest Management in Sonoma County.
Fred has over 20 publications on forests and erosion, and was a contributor to Reed Noss’ The Redwood Forest. His essays on nature are collected in ‘Sonoma Mandala’, and were presented on a local NPR affiliate; he has also been a contributor to KQED’s Perspectives. Fred recently received anaward from the Chalk Hill Artist Residency to connect art and science at an historic bend of the Russian River.
Fred’s family has roots in Petaluma, Healdsburg, and San Francisco. With his family, they have managed a producing redwood forest on Mill Creek since 1960, which burned in the Walbridge Fire. As a forester, he manages properties for timber, aesthetics, a cell tower, roads, owls and restoration of late seral conditions.
Brook Edwards, Park Program Supervisor, Natural Resources Division, Sonoma County Regional Parks
Brook Edwards managed the Jenner Headlands Preserve for 13 years. During his time as Regional Director he oversaw the development of property-wide stewardship programs that include restoration forestry, wildfire fuel reduction, prescribed fire, conservation grazing, riparian restoration, and public recreation. He has over 27 years of experience in the environmental field working in California and overseas. He received his bachelors at San Jose State University and his masters at Humboldt State. He now works for Sonoma County Regional Parks supervising forest management projects and teaches watershed restoration at the Santa Rosa Junior College.
Marshall Turbeville, Battalion Chief, Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, CAL FIRE
Marshall Turbeville is a CAL FIRE Battalion Chief in the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, overseeing three CAL FIRE stations in Sonoma County. He began working for CAL FIRE in 1995 as a seasonal fire fighter while attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Marshall graduated from Cal Poly in 1998 and 2000 with Bachelor of Science degrees in Civil Engineering and Forestry and Natural Resources. Marshall accepted a full time position with CAL FIRE in 2000. He worked in Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit's Pre-Fire Division from 2004 to 2009 where he combined his forestry education and firefighting experience, learned GIS, and gained experience completing environmental reviews for prescribed burning. He also maintained the Unit's Fire Plan, helped Firesafe Councils, and served as a fire investigator. Marshall promoted to his current position in 2009. He is a fire behavior analyst and has implemented prescribing burning in varying vegetation, topography, and weather conditions. He has been leading prescribed burns at The Jenner Headlands since 2016. Marshall has responded to wildfire incidents throughout the State and was a member of CAL FIRE's Incident Management Teams for 10 years. He instructs at the Santa Rosa Junior College in the Natural Resources Management and Fire Technology departments and participates on several CAL FIRE instructional cadres.
Kim Batchelder, Vegetation Management Coordinator, Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
Kim began his career managing Wilderness Areas in Colorado, then reforestation projects in rural Costa Rica, followed by forest management certification from Mexico to Chile, before working in sustainable forest management for The Nature Conservancy – Mexico. He finally landed in Sonoma County in 2005 to help protect and manage fee lands and create trails like the North Sonoma Mountain and Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserves for Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District. Now, Kim is the Vegetation Management Coordinator to assist Sonoma County to develop tools and treatments to improve the health and resiliency of the county’s landscapes while protecting communities from large-scale wildfire events. He manages the Vegetation Management Grant Program and collaborating with County agencies, local non-profits and fire services agencies to determine the best way to use $25 Million dedicated to vegetation management from a PG&E Settlement with the County after the 2017 wildfires. Kim received his Bachelors degree in Biology and Environmental Conservation from University of Colorado at Boulder and a Masters in Forestry from Duke University.
Judy Rosales, Executive Director, Coast Ridge Forest Council
Judy Rosales is the executive director and founding member of the Coast Ridge Forest Council. She has worked as a marketing consultant for Native American tribes and tribally owned businesses, including providing support services for tribal sustainability and renewable energy projects. Upon completing the Natural Resources Management Program at Santa Rosa Junior College, Judy worked as a project coordinator and grant writer for the Gualala River Watershed Council and as an educator in hatchery practices for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Judy is a long-time resident of the Gualala Ranch in Cazadero near Fort Ross where she lost her first home to the 1978 Creighton Ridge Fire.
Jason Wells, Director of Forestry, Registered Professional Forester, Sonoma RCD
Jason Wells is a California Registered Professional Forester (RPF), whose focus at the RCD is to provide technical and planning assistance to landowners, help build a forestry program capable of addressing vegetation and fuels management concerns throughout the county, as well as address post-fire recovery efforts. Jason’s work supports the missions of the Sonoma and Gold Ridge RCDs. Born and raised in Petaluma, he graduated from Humboldt State University with a B.S. in Forestry with an emphasis in Forest Conservation; He then worked for six years in private industry throughout Humboldt and Mendocino Counties. His experience includes writing CEQA equivalent Timber Harvest Plan documents, integrating knowledge of forest operations with environmental impact mitigations, silviculture (applied forest ecology), forest health and protection, economics of forest management, and road design and layout. Jason has also been certified by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE) to conduct archaeological surveys for plans in which CALFIRE is lead agency.
Anthony Macias, Cultural and Tribal Preservation Officer, Kashia Pomo Tribal Administration
