Oaks ‘n’ Folks – Volume 18, Issue 2 – July 2002 Last December, a play about humans and oaks premiered at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park, Sonoma County. This one-woman show titled “Who Will Heal the Ground?”
Read full articlePolicy
Modeling vineyard expansion in California’s north coast
Many of the policy deliberations on the environmental effects of new vineyard development revolve around the potential application of the California Environmental Quality Act. In particular, some forest and oak woodland conversion has resulted from recent vineyard expansion. Timberland conversions receive CEQA review through the Forest Practice Act (FPA), whereas clearing of oak woodlands and shrub communities generally do not. While a collection of county and city policies target a wide array of oak conservation objectives, these were not generally designed to address land-use conversion resulting from agriculture. In response to the need for more environmental oversight for vineyard development, county governments have developed various regulatory approaches.
Read full articleWildlife Response to Different Kinds of Residential Development
Oaks ‘n Folks – Volume 14, Issue 1 – March, 1999 Residential development is expanding in California, resulting in a larger number of houses and roads in wooded areas. This increased demand for property in rural areas has resulted in
Read full articleIntegrating Information at State, Regional and Local Scales
Watersheds are landscape mosaics; therefore, watershed structure and function is dependent on scale. Temporal and spatial scales influence the inferences we can make about landscape patterns and processes. Spatial scale is the dimension of an object or process characterized by both grain and extent. Grain is defined as the finest level of spatial resolution possible with a given data set and extent is the size of a study area. The scale at which watershed measurements are taken influences our ability to detect spatial patterns. Biotic and abiotic processes vary in their operating scale.For example, anadromous fish are affected by stream and ocean environments. In contrast, native minnows are influenced by processes that occur within a stream or tributary.
Read full articleAssessing Potential Hardwood Loss in the Northern Sacramento Valley
The human population of the northern Sacramento Valley is forecast to more than double by the year 2040. This implies that additional land in the region will be under increasing development pressure for urban and rural residential uses. If this pattern of development is projected beyond the 15- to 20-year time frames of local-area plans, significant oak woodland acreage will be affected.
Read full articleCalifornia Certified Rangeland Manager Program
The intent of California’s Certified Rangeland Manager Program is to provide evidence of professional competency, to protect the public interest,and to ensure proper management of the state’s rangeland resources as embodied in the Code of Professional Ethics of the Society
Read full articleChanges in El Dorado County Land-Use and Ownership
Oaks ‘n’ Folks – Volume 13, Issue 2- August. 1998 El Dorado County has experienced a change in land use and ownership pattern since the late 1950s. We recently completed a study of some of these changes,using information collected for
Read full articleA New Tool for Conserving Oak Woodlands
Oaks ‘n Folks – Volume 14, Issue 1 – March, 1999 The California Rangeland Trust While many questions exist regarding the effects of grazing on oak trees, the conversion of grazing lands to more intensive uses, including farming and urban
Read full articleConservation and Collaboration: Vineyards in a Santa Barbara Landscape
For the past year, Santa Barbara County residents, their elected representatives, and County planning staff have been faced with the issue of a rapidly expanding wine-grape industry and effects of associated agricultural expansion on native oaks and other natural resources.
Read full articleCalifornia’s Hardwood Rangelands: Production and Conservation Values
Oaks ‘n Folks – Volume 14, Issue 2 – August, 1999 Introduction California’s 10 million acres of hardwood rangelands, or oak woodlands, are the most biologically diverse broad habitat in the state. Most of the state’s water supply flows through
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