MOUNTAINS + MOLEHILLS
  • Blog
  • About
  • Our People
  • Contact

a Sonoma Land Trust stewardship blog

Mountains + Molehills focuses on the adventures of the Sonoma Land Trust stewardship crew, and the day-to-day challenges and blessings that they face. The daily schedule of each crew member may involve working with power shovels, connecting with landowners, hiking around the Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor, building habitat for burrowing owls, avoiding skunks, trooping through poison oak, and so much more. Every day is an adventure, and we hope to share those adventures with you!

a good day for the mountain

5/18/2018

0 Comments

 

by Shanti Edwards

When I recently interviewed CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Marshall Turbeville about lessons learned from the 2017 fires, he said “We have to go back to what works: loud sirens and neighbors contacting neighbors.” Marshall advises us that community level, neighbor-to-neighbor planning will be essential in the years to come because extreme fire weather seems to be the future in California.
​
“We are good at putting out average fires, but we are trending toward catastrophic events driven by weather conditions. History did repeat itself and will again,” he warns. “The large fires of 1964 and 1978 are just one generation away and people forget — but we can’t forget.”

We took Marshall’s guidance to heart and recently convened a gathering to connect with Cazadero neighbors who live near Sonoma Land Trust’s Little Black Mountain and Pole Mountain Preserves. This was a rare opportunity to share a conversation as a group about emergency notification systems, potential evacuation routes, fuel reduction strategies and all things relevant to our rural mountain community. Marshall was in attendance to provide expert advice for defensible space and emergency response planning, and Jeff Schreiber of Sonoma RCD introduced landowner assistance programs for fuel reduction and road improvement. 
Picture
As follow-up, the Land Trust is working with Marshall to develop an emergency plan map and phone tree for the neighborhood — a necessary first step in protecting the human communities that surround our wildland preserves. If we can be a convener and conduit of information for our nearby neighbors, we think this is an important role to play.

Over the years, the Land Trust has focused on fuel reduction projects (in partnership with CAL FIRE, Conservation Corps North Bay, USDA and FireSafe Sonoma) to improve forest health and wildlife habitat, and maintain defensible space and emergency access corridors at the Little Black Mountain Preserve. We installed water storage tanks with hydrant outlets and developed a fire preparedness plan and map for the local fire department. These efforts are necessary in a thickly forested landscape recovering from the intensive logging of the 1950s and the forest-stand replacing fire of 1978 — and continue to be a high stewardship priority today.
​
We are actively managing our forests and grasslands for ecological integrity and wildfire resiliency. As fire ecologists distill their recommendations, we’ll be applying those lessons learned across our protected lands.

For more information about defensible space recommendations, please go to:
  • FireSafe Sonoma 
  • Ready for Wildfire — Defensible Space
  • Ready for Wildfire — Hardening your Home 
  • Sustainable and Fire Landscapes
  • Fire Resistant Buildings 
Picture

Shanti Edwards is stewardship project manager for Sonoma Land Trust. 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    about us

    Sonoma Land Trust is a local nonprofit based in Santa Rosa, CA, that conserves scenic, natural, agricultural and open lands in Sonoma County for the benefit of the community and future generations. This blog focuses on SLT's stewardship team, whose members do hands-on work to directly protect, restore, and safeguard the land for generations to come.

    subscribe to our mailing list

    * indicates required
    Give Now

    archives

    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

    categories

    All

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog
  • About
  • Our People
  • Contact