Posts Tagged: wild fire

Rural Roads Webinar Series

Rural roads are vital to rural communities, nature recreation users, and for fire and other disaster emergency response and evacuation. These roads are often located in forested and rangeland settings and may be owned and/or managed by governmental or private parties.

The UC Forest Research and Outreach website offers many wonderful resources, including the Rural Roads Webinar Series. From their website:

“Rural roads in California are associated with several environmental impacts. They have been identified as a major source of sediment production in watersheds supporting beneficial uses. They can provide the means by which exotic plants and animals and pathogens are spread into wild lands. Roads fragment the landscape and adversely affect wildlife habitat.  Vehicles traveling on rural roads are responsible for thousands of road-killed wildlife every year.”

The webinar series will provide viewers with:

• a broad overview of the environmental issues associated with rural roads in California.
• a description of the fundamental principles of rural road construction, re-construction and operations.
• a description of practices used to minimize the environmental impacts of road construction, operations and maintenance.
• review methods used for road assessment and inventory to identify problems and maintenance or re-construction or restoration needs.

Check the sitefor upcoming webinars. Previous versions have been archived on the website.

Wildfire preparedness for farmers, ranchers and growers

The Ventura County Fire Department’s, Ready Set Go! Wildfire preparedness for farmers, ranchers and growers is an interesting and informative resource designed to help the agricultural community prepare for wildfire.

Agricultural production areas are often located right next to, or very close by highly flammable natural vegetation areas. In addition, many supplies and materials typically found in agriculture are particularly susceptible to flames or wind-driven embers.

The Ready Set Go! publication can help our food producers protect their property, homes and livelihood from the threat of fire.

Topics include:                                                       

• Defensible space and embers
• Orchards and groves
• Farmers, ranchers and growers
• Rangeland and livestock operations
• Livestock and row crops
• Wildfire resources for farmers, ranchers and growers
• Checklist
  

  Agricultural production areas are often located right next to, or very close by highly flammable natural vegetation areas. Resources are available to help growers prepare for wildfire.

Designing and Retrofitting Communities with Fire in Mind

The California Fire Science Consortium is sponsoring an upcoming webinar on January 26 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm.

The title of the webinar is, Planning to Live with Fire: Designing and Retrofitting Communities with Fire in Mind. A description of points to be covered is shown below.

“This webinar will focus on community planning issues that relate to fire’s inevitable visit. Existing and new communities will be addressed, along with individual lot-by-lot development. Best practices will be recommended, fallback positions offered, and tradeoffs described. Issues of sustainability will be included. Case studies will be used to illustrate the process of planning to live with fire.”

There is no cost to participate in the webinar, but you must register in advance to participate. Recordings of previous webinars and a wealth of wildfire resources can be viewed at the California Fire Science Consortium website.

California Agriculture – fall 2011

The current issue of UC's California Agriculture, subtitled Stewards of the land: Private owners share views on forest and range resources, contains several articles highlighting various aspects of our state’s natural resources. Many challenges to our natural environments are anticipated as California continues to develop and grow.

UC’s researchers are highly motivated to find solutions in their areas of expertise. To learn more about what is being done to improve our collective environmental future, please see the following articles available online:

• Forest and rangeland owners value land for natural amenities and as financial investment
• Tree shelters and weed control enhance growth and survival of natural blue oak seedlings
• Hedgerows enhance beneficial insects on farms in California’s Central Valley
• Water sensors with cellular system eliminate tail water drainage in alfalfa irrigation
• Totally impermeable film retains fumigants, allowing lower application rates in strawberry
• Research on fire and ecosystem services must incorporate climate realities
• California Firewood Task Force’s message: “Buy it where you burn it”
• Water workgroup recommends new salinity guidelines for regulatory agencies
• Tree-killing pathogen traced back to California

Read more