We’ve all heard about the current epidemic running wild through our local forests. Bark beetles have claimed numerous victims and the devastation continues with no sign of stopping. Governor Jerry Brown declared a State of Emergency in our forests on October 30, 2015. CAL FIRE has issued Drought Mortality Exemptions that allow landowners to forgo the typical process of being approved for projects and undergoing environmental compliance checks and allows loggers and foresters to remove these dead and dying trees at their own discretion.
A Sense of Place
Having just walked out of the most transformative conference of my life, I feel that now is the time to reflect on all that I have learned in the last three days. I attended the Quivira Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I had never heard of this organization before, but my boss had heard from reliable sources how important it was and told me, “Just go.” So I went.
These hot, dry summer days sometimes seem to drag on forever. Our Garden Bar Preserve, located along the Bear River in Southern Nevada County, seems to be patiently waiting for fall and for the first rain storms to pass over and re-quench the parched land.