Forest Focus

There are portals within many national forests that offer entry into realms of the most curious forms of biodiversity. These underground chambers and hallways are called lava tubes or caves. In these landscapes below the ground, tiny creatures creep in the shadows in costumes of faded hues. Their pallor is paired with neighboring life forms that sparkle when hit by a flashlight, as if dusted with glitter. And these subterranean spaces are also archives that contain records of our Paleolithic and climatic past. To explore within, a readiness for crawling will be required. Fortunately, we have an experienced caver to show us the way. For a transcript please visit the episode website.

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) became extirpated, or locally extinct, in California in the 1920s. But this large member of the dog family was once a native species in California that ranged widely here and throughout much of the United States. In recent years, gray wolves have been returning to California. Their slow comeback is a natural progression of population growth happening in others western states. Wildlife specialists with the USDA Forest Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are working together to monitor and conserve this recovering species by looking for signs of their whereabouts with boots on the ground, satellite collars, and DNA analysis.

The Pacific Southwest Research Station is part of the Forest Service's research and development organization. R&D employs more than 500 scientists as well as several hundred technical and support personnel located at 67 sites throughout the U.S. In this episode, we focus on three employees to share who they are and what they do at the station.

When it comes to getting perspective on forest health, sky-high observations are a big help in California. With over 30 million acres of forested land throughout the state, there is a lot of ground to cover. So, each summer, Forest Service aerial tree survey specialists spend several weeks in the aircraft gathering observations on tree mortality in lands of all ownerships.

[Croak. Ribbit. Croak. Ribbit.] This is the anthem of Frog Fridays. This May-time wildlife survey is held within a stream on the Tahoe National Forest, where foothill yellow-legged frogs lay their eggs. Each outing is part training exercise, part data collection for future habitat restoration and part protection mission. And it is where we will literally get our feet wet in wildlife conservation.

Species are designated as endangered when their population is in significant decline, which often means documentation of these species in their natural habitat is increasingly challenging. Perhaps as difficult as landing on a conclusive verbal description of how they look. But knowing where endangered species, like the fisher, are in the landscape and how many of them are there, is essential for their conservation and recovery.

National Forests are locations where we can listen to a concert of wildlife sounds. The caws, croaks, howls, growls and squeaks we might hear are gems of information about wildlife and their habitat. The USDA Forest Service and partners work together to conserve and restore land that wildlife species need to survive but to avoid unintended negative impacts of wildlife, it is essential to know what species are in a forest and where they are located.

This is the audio version of our first Videocast from one of the four Cone Camps held in 2023. The camps are built around a day in the classroom and a day in the field. Participants network and learn from industry experts from American Forests, USDA Forest Service, CAL FIRE, and the California Cone Corps. On the agenda: cone phenology, monitoring and collection techniques, seed needs, cone collection planning, contracting and coordinating with agencies, reporting crop sighting, field logistics, safety and more. [Video version]

In the episode we learn the valuable connection between beavers and meadows. In a meadow, the squish of mud and splash of a slightly flooded landscape are signs of health. It can be easy to overlook meadows with national forests, perhaps simply because our attention is more often drawn to things that fill a space - a lake, a mountain, a grove of trees - rather than what appears to be merely open space.

Have you ever wondered why some trees — in certain locations, a lot of trees — are brown and dying? The connection between bark beetles, drought and tree mortality is a topic of this episode and how researchers are looking into making trees less attractive...to bark beetles, not tree huggers.

In this episode, we'll meet Forest Service conservation geneticist Dr. Jessica Wright within a post-fire landscape on the Plumas National Forest. In collaboration with others out there with her, Jessica is planting three very different tree species - ponderosa pine, incense cedar, and valley oak, within an experimental plot as part of a study on assisted migration. With this climate adaptation option, seeds are collected from a warmer habitat taken to a nursery for analysis or to grow into seedlings and then planted in a cooler habitat.

Springtime is defined as an early or flourishing stage of development, and after a wildfire damage the landscape, we sometimes see teams of people replanting trees within the burn scar during the early part of the year. Jamie Hinrichs helps explain reforestation efforts in a very special place in the forest.

In this episode, we return once again to our series on Nature's Benefits. Today, we will focus on a benefit you can't see. Well, you can see the effects of it... it's a bit hard to explain. Luckily for me, we have Lara Buluc back to handle the reins, along with experts to talk about: Carbon.

In this episode, we learn about tree disease and how it affects forest health from Jamie Hinrichs. Jamie was featured in Episode 29 - Trails and Transformation when she took us to the Inyo National Forest backcountry to hear from a California Conservation Corps trail crew. Expect to hear more from Jamie and her adventures into the forest in future episodes in what we will start calling an occasional series, Echoes from the Understory.

In this episode, we focus on another nature's benefits: recreation. This continues our series on the many benefits forests provide so let's take a long hike and chat about how we understand outdoor activities. The diverse landscapes and climates in California's 18 National Forests provide many outdoor recreation opportunities to nearly 24 million people annually including: hiking, camping, picnicking, water activities, winter sports, horseback riding, motorized activities, and green space for gathering, practicing cultural traditions, or solitude. From primitive, unconfined solitude to formalized group activities and the broad spectrum of activities in between these outdoor experiences, these recreation opportunities help people connect to nature and strengthen their bonds with each other.

In this episode, we meet up with a backcountry trail crew on the Inyo National Forest. California Conservation Corps members and the United States Forest Service staff tell us what it takes to live and work on the trail. As we shall soon learn, the combination of partnership, funding from the Great American Outdoors Act, the true grit brings transformation for the trail and the crew.

In this episode, we focus on how reforestation and restoration projects begin. It all starts with a seed. What happens when a national forest in California needs to replant trees after the damage of a wildfire, insects or other harmful activity that has scarred the landscape? What they need are seedlings adapted to grow in specific elevations and climates. What they need to do is call the seed specialists at the Placerville Nursery, located in Camino on the Eldorado National Forest.

National Forests are loved by many people for many things beyond the recreational benefit they provide. We will tie in Episode 22: Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with another amazing benefit carved into the national forest landscape: History. Historical markers can be found throughout California's forests, parks, cities and towns that speak towards the Native American tribes that lived off the land, to the pioneers who surveyed and explored, and to those who shapred what California is today. Episode 27: Chinese Heritage Sites on California National Forests

In this episode, we focus on National Invasive Plant, Pest and Disease Awareness Month. With the U.S. Forest Service under the Department of Agriculture there is certainly a connection between these harmful invaders and the threat they pose to our nation's food security, backyard gardens and natural resources. Episode 26: National Invasive Plant, Pest and Disease Awareness Month

In this episode we focus on our collaboration with the State of California and particularly CAL FIRE. Since 2015, the U.S. Forest Service and our partners have received roughly $209 million in grants fudning for work on and around National Forest System lands. This funding is managed by CAL FIRE's Forest Health and Fire Prevention grant programs, which are both part of California Climate Investments, funded with proceeds from California's Cap-and-Trade auction revenues. We talk how this funding assists us to increase the pace and scale of our ecological restoration and speak about successes from the past several years. Episode 25: California Climate Investments Grant Awards Projects