Reckoning with Fire in the Klamath Mountains and the West
By Will Harling,MidKlamath Watershed Council “Indian know, and bye-un-bye White Man say he know too, but Indian say, WHITE MAN YOU KNOW TOO LATE.”—Klamath River Jack, May 27, 1916, in correspondence with U.S. Forest Service Ranger Jim Casey Sometimes it feels too late. Like the boulder has rolled so far down the mountain we cannot…
Read MoreThe Dusky-footed Woodrat
My goodness!! What chonky little rats we have here in Mendocino. The Dusky-footed woodrat, to be precise, is our most common Mendo rat that lives in the oak woodlands among other places here in our county. They are called “dusky footed” because they have little grey marks that look like soot on their feet, chest,…
Read MoreKnobcone Pine
Pinus attenuata Plant Notes by Cheryl Lisin In the fall of every year, the cones of most species of pine trees release their seeds. The seeds then germinate with the coming rains, thus perpetuating the species. Knobcone pines are different. Known as closed cone pines, knobcones require heat, usually from fire, in order to open…
Read MorePoem: The Judges and the Frog
An account of the Dusky Gopher Frog’s Defense, and Fight for His Life, before the U.S. Supreme Court, October 1, 2018 and the consequent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s and the National Marine Fisheries Service’s revision of the Definition of Habitat The Judges and the Frog By Ellen Taylor On a seepage slope, amidSly pitcher…
Read MoreTurtle Island Restoration Network Purchases 4-Acre Property on San Geronimo Creek for Salmon Protection
By Todd Steiner, Salmon Protection And Watershed Network Turtle Island Restoration Network recently acquired a four-acre property on the most important un-dammed headwater tributary of Lagunitas Creek, which hosts the largest spawning population of critically endangered Central California Coast coho salmon. The purchase will allow the Marin County organization to promote the long-term survival of…
Read MoreRevisiting the Site of the 2015 Horse Fire in the King Range National Conservation Area
By Cheryl Lisin, with Rob DiPernaFriends of Lost Coast The forest is thick at the Saddle Mountain Trailhead in the King Range National Conservation Area. Much of the approximately one mile of trail from here to the site of the 2015 Horse Fire passes through overly dense stands of Douglas-fir and tanoak, interspersed with canyon…
Read MoreLuna: A Love Story of Protection, Wounding, Healing
By Susan Werner, The Women’s Forest Sanctuary “Our mind is good at getting us to think small. But I have found that we will do for love that which we don’t think possible. So the question to ask ourselves is ‘What do I love?” Julia Butterfly Hill As part of our community efforts to protect…
Read MoreOf Fire and Myth: Will Harling, Bigfoot, and the Power of Place
This story originally appeared on the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network blog, at fireadaptednetwork.org To have stories like this one on Fire Adaption delivered to your inbox weekly, visit bit.ly/FACNetSubscribe. By Lenya Quinn-Davidson I grew up in the heart of Bigfoot Country. Trinity County, California: a place where stories of Bigfoot encounters are common, even…
Read MoreRoadside Fuels Reduction for Neighborhood Safety
By Ali Freedlund, Mattole Restoration Council Picture this: A lovely country lane where multiple residents rumble from their driveways en route to the post office or store. On their way they pass a wall of thick, impenetrable brush and a hillside dense with fuels, until they carefully cross a narrow, one-lane bridge. They just catch…
Read MoreTime to Forge a New Relationship with Fire in the Eel River Watershed
By Eel River Recovery Project The rapid onset of climate change is partly responsible for the one million acre plus August Complex Fire that has burned vast areas of the east side of the Eel River watershed in 2020, but there are also legacy problems adding to increased fuel loads and the severity of the…
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