Happy Valentines Day! A little over 2 years ago I began fire mimicry treatments on three sick heritage oaks in Atherton, CA. The third oak in this series has a severe stem canker infection, probably Sudden Oak Death, that was surgically treated. Here are the results showing a noticeable improvement in the density of the oak canopies.
Today I joined Santa Cruz Permaculture in teaching a fire mimicry workshop at Indian Canyon. Kanyon Sayers-Roods of the Mutsun Costanoan Ohlone joined us to share her wisdom and recount the history of this rare, federally-recognized Indian land in Central California. Above is a photo set of an oak at Indian Canyon that we have treated with fire mimicry for the pat two years.
Three years ago I began fire mimicry treatments on a grove of very sick coast live oaks in Monterey, CA. the photos (above and below) indicate that most of the oaks have responded nicely, showing improvement in canopy density and lushness. Note that one severely diseased oak below (Case No. 20171202.6) had a surgery and cauterization procedure that appears to have been successful. At least for these trees, 2020 has ended on a positive note!
Here a Youtube video of my recent lecture and discussion in the course FORESTS, hosted by the Humanities Center of Texas Tech University. Many thanks to Bruce Clarke and Michael Borshuk for facilitating this talk!
This Thursday, November 12, (5:30 pm Pacific Time) I will be conducting a zoom lecture and discussion for the online course FORESTS, hosted by Texas Tech University, on the topic of “Forest Restoration Theory and Practice Based on Indigenous Cultural Tending”. The points I will be addressing are: Gaia theory, ecological succession, fire ecology of California, evidence of cultural modification of trees and landscapes, and approaches to forest restoration. The lecture is open to all, just be sure to register beforehand. Follow the embedded link to register.
The above coast live oak is a ~500 year old coast live oak that was clearly pollarded by resident Coast Miwok people. I recently inspected this and several other coast live oaks treated with fire mimicry in February of 2019. Due to the difference in time of year of the photos these results are not exact comparisons. Still, significant improvement in canopy density and lushness is apparent in all the oaks, except for the untreated (control) oak shown in the final image.
Here are some recent results from a grove of mature coast live oaks in Piedmont, CA treated with fire mimicry for the past 5 years. Most of the oaks are showing lusher, greener canopies, although one oak (shown below) has succumb to Sudden Oak Death. The remaining oaks have no sign of disease.
Two years ago I treated 21 coast live oaks with fire mimicry at Canterbury Woods, a senior retirement center in Pacific Grove, CA. Today I inspected the oaks and re-photographed them. Here are the results. Most of the oaks appear to have a denser canopy after two years. Please take a careful look at the photos and judge for yourself.
The last few days my crew and I have been doing fire mimicry treatments in a grove of coast live oaks in Soquel, CA. Here are the before-and-after photos of the areas we cleared, mimicking indigenous ground fires. Ideally, these areas will not only protect nearby homes and structures, they will also keep the surrounding forests free of canopy fires. Thus, we are saving not only the homes, but the adjacent forests as well from catastrophic fires.
This Fall 2020 I will be lecturing for the online course FORESTS, hosted by Texas Tech University, on the topic of “Forest Restoration Theory and Practice Based on Indigenous Cultural Tending”. The speaker list is excellent and I plan to participate on all of the lectures and discussions.
Sudden Oak Life by Lee Klinger 
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