While trees and forests are often emblematic of constancy in a fast-paced world, our state's forests are actually changing before our eyes. Since 2020, the UC ANR Forest Stewardship Education (FSE) program has been helping California's forest landowners be proactive about the inevitable shifts their forestland will experience. The Forest Stewardship and Post-Fire Forest Resilience workshop programs utilize an online educational format, which guide landowners through the basics of ..read more

Today, the revitalization of the UC Wood Products laboratory at the Richmond Field Station outpost is led by Berkeley's UCCE Assistant Professors and Extension Specialists Dr. Daniel Sanchez and Dr. Paul Mayencourt. Sanchez leads the Carbon Removal Lab and his work advocates for the adoption of innovative biomass utilization technologies, which encourages policymakers and industry leaders to learn, collaborate and support utilization of woody biomass and wood products. Mayencourt researches ..read more

Social Media Summary Protecting California's forests and building climate-resilient communities and ecosystems requires forest landowners, managers, and natural resource professionals to actively engage in stewardship. UC ANR's Forest Stewardship Education Initiative provides practical forest management information and hands-on skills to small forest landowners throughout California's forested communities. Since 2020, 100 landowners who attended a 9-week Forest Stewardship Workshop series ..read more

The new film "California's Watershed Healing" documents the huge benefits that result from restoring forests to healthier densities. UC Merced's Sierra Nevada Research Institute partnered with the nonprofit Chronicles Group to tell the story of these efforts, the science behind them, and pathways that dedicated individuals and groups are pioneering to scale up these urgent climate solutions. "California's forests are at a tipping point, owing to both climate stress and past unsustainable ..read more

In devastating cases dotting the globe in recent years, climate warming has led to an increase in the number and severity of destructive wildfires. Climate change projections indicate that environmental and economic damage from wildfires will spread and escalate in the years ahead. While studies have analyzed impacts on land, new research from the University of California San Diego and other institutions indicates that aquatic ecosystems are also undergoing rapid changes as a result of ..read more

Charred land may not look like much at first glance, but a controlled burn can benefit a landscape by rejuvenating the soil, maintaining healthy ecosystems and reducing the impact of future wildfires. Pyro Futures is a new exhibit at the Manetti Shrem Museum at UC Davis that explores the ways fire and fire stewardship can change California's landscapes. The collection was curated by Brett Milligan and Emily Schlickman, professors of landscape architecture and environmental design, who hope ..read more

The cool of the forest is a welcome escape on a hot day. This is especially true for mammals in North America's hottest regions, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The study indicates that, as the climate warms, preserving forest cover will be increasingly important for wildlife conservation. The study, published today in the journal PNAS, found that North American mammals — from pumas, wolves and bears to rabbits, deer and opossums — consistently ..read more

A 20-year experiment in the Sierra Nevada confirms that different forest management techniques — prescribed burning, restoration thinning or a combination of both — are effective at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire in California. These treatments also improve forest health, making trees more resilient to stressors like drought and bark beetles, and they do not negatively impact plant or wildlife biodiversity within individual tree stands, the research found ..read more

As California grapples with decades of severe wildfires, the newly established UC ANR Fire Network plays an integral role in providing and advancing science-based solutions and delivering useful tools throughout the state. Recently, the Fire Network hosted an immersive field tour for California legislative staff in collaboration with Berkeley Forests to demonstrate their work in ongoing fire and forestry research. “We have such a rich network of fire experts and thought leaders within ..read more

The Forest Stewardship team has revamped their Forest Stewardship Story Map, first published in summer 2023. The new application hosts a slew of new features which provide a more user-friendly experience and allow users to learn about the forestry education programs offered by UC ANR. The new application, built using ArcGIS Experience Builder, is live and can be viewed by clicking HERE. Follow along as we go through the new Forest Stewardship Story Map, highlighting key new features, and ..read more