Invasive Plant Treatment – Los Padres Forest Association

Fire Restrictions, Trail work Updates & Volunteer Opportunities

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Kendra Moss

*Just Another Mission Pine Sunrise*
*Photo by Conor Watson*

Hello Friends,

While the green of Spring certainly has felt short-lived this year, with 100% of the state of CA experiencing drought and 41 (out of 58) counties experiencing a drought emergency, we were glad to get out in the Los Padres to enjoy all the brief but beautiful spring moments we could. After our Santa Cruz Working Vacation at the beginning of May, we have stayed busy with work on the North Cold Spring trail, Mission Pine Trail, Blue Canyon Trail, Little Falls Trail and more work on the Santa Cruz Trail, and are headed out this next week to Beartrap camp to tackle sections of the Gene Marshall – Piedra Blanca National Recreation Trail for our next Working Vacation.

With the low rainfall the state has seen this year, we were not surprised when the Forest Service announced Fire Restrictions on backcountry campfires that went into effect earlier this week. No open fires, campfires or charcoal fires will be permitted outside of developed recreation sites or designated Campfire Use Sites, even with a valid California Campfire Permit. Lanterns and regular gas camping and backpacking stoves will be permitted, but only with a valid California Campfire Permit, which are available free-of-charge on the Forest website. We cannot stress enough the importance of adhering to these campfire restrictions, and in general the importance of fire safety during these dry, dry times. The state is gearing up for an intense fire season and while most of the Southern CA counties were not included in the emergency drought proclamation from the governor’s office, it is on all of us to make sure that the lands we cherish remain safe from human-caused fires. Please be safe, follow the rules and do your part to help protect your Los Padres National Forest. We all love a good campfire, but it’s definitely not worth the risk. Besides, camping without a fire can definitely be fun and a great way to connect to different aspects of nature at night. There are lots of great things that camping without fire can include, like more time for stargazing, playing cards or music, listening to the sounds of nature, and getting some extra sleep! Enjoy your time in the forest and let’s all stay safe!

SANTA CRUZ WORKING VACATION PT 2

Weather permitting, we’ll be headed back out to Santa Cruz Guard Station the week of June 12-20 to continue work on the Santa Cruz Trail. This time we’ll be based at Santa Cruz and working up towards Little Pine along the legendary “40 Mile Wall”. Most of the work will be cutting tread until it gets too warm and then retreating to spend the hotter hours relaxing under the oaks or in the nearby Santa Cruz Creek pools. The exact dates will be weather dependent and we’d love to have any of you help out and join the fun. If interested in either signing up or to get some more information, please email us at VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org. We will be driving in to Santa Cruz Station – hope to see you out there!

*Volunteers relaxing at the Santa Cruz Guard Station, May ’21. Photo by Marianne Henry*

Forest 411

Senator Alex Padilla introduced companion legislation to Representative Carbajal’s Central Coast Heritage Protection Act, which passed the House of Representatives in February. This bill will protect special places in the Los Padres National Forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument for their ecological, cultural, and recreational values. Rep. Carbajal’s bill will also designate the Condor Trail as a National Scenic Trail. The senate version also prohibits future oil drilling in certain places, improves equitable access to the outdoors, and benefits local and statewide economies. Thank you Senator Padilla and Rep. Carbajal!
Condor populations are healthily growing and expanding their range! The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service announced a new initiative that calls for releasing four or six juvenile condors each year for 20 years throughout Redwood National Park, which is about an hour’s drive from the Oregon border. Partnering with the Yoruk tribe, conservationists hope to boost populations of these endangered birds, which suffered great losses during the Dolan fire. Good luck, condors!
The Los Padres National Forest is proposing to restore Rose Valley Creek to its historical stream function, form, and habitat to benefit native aquatic species as well as provide streamside recreation. Check out the recording of the Public Workshop the Forest Service hosted on May 13th.
Volunteers are returning again this year as citizen smoke watchers at the 92-year-old Chews Ridge lookout tower south of Carmel. This commanding vantage point has given spotters the ability to detect and quickly report new wildfire starts before they get large and destructive. If you’re interested in becoming a Chews Ridge volunteer, visit the Chews Ridge Fire Lookout FB page or email Scott at PalomarTowers@gmail.com for more information.
LPFA-Operated Visitor Centers are open and ready to help you navigate the Los Padres! With Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center serving the Southern Los Padres and Big Sur Station serving the North, our visitor centers are a great place to stop before you head into the forest. Come by to learn about the ecology of the area, pick up a map and supplies, or get your Los Padres-related questions answered by our friendly staff and volunteers. LPFA members receive a 15% discount on all purchases (exception for Adventures Passes) at Los Padres Ranger Stations and Visitor Centers.
Graffiti removal efforts have been advanced by local Boy Scouts. Members of Troop 26 helped remove over 30 pieces of graffiti on Tunnel Trail in the SB Frontcountry. Great work, Scouts! We hate to see graffiti in the forest, so please let us know if you find any – email INFO@LPForest.org.

*Member of Troop 26 helping remove graffiti. Photo by Paul Weakliem*

Volunteer Opportunities

National Trail Day is coming up on June 5th! This is a great day to give back to and enjoy the many trails we love. Click here to find a volunteer event near you!
SB County Parks & Recreation is hosting a National Trail Day event on June 12th at Tunnel & Jesusita Trails. Email Sbiddle@SantaBarbaraCA.gov to RSVP and get more information.
Volunteer Trailhead Ambassadors Needed for the popular Pine Ridge Trailhead in Big Sur! Trailhead Ambassadors will help visitors understand how they can enjoy the public lands of the Big Sur coast safely and responsibly. To learn more, please email toan@ventanawild.org
SBRD Biologist Valerie Hubbard is seeking volunteers for noxious weed removal. The initial work would include mapping high priority weeds on the East Camino Cielo and also manually treating spotted knapweed. Future work might be assisting with herbicide treatment of tamarisk in the Santa Ynez River, manual treatment of yellow star thistle on Zaca Ridge road, manual treatment of pampas grass on the Happy Canyon allotment, manual treatment of medusahead grass at Happy Hollow camp and mapping and manual treatment of yellow star thistle on the Buckhorn road. Email us at VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org to get involved!
Help collect seed to restore areas invaded by Spanish broom along East Camino Cielo in Santa Barbara! Saturday volunteer seed collection dates are: 5/22, 6/5, 6/19, 7/10, 7/24, and 8/7. There are sign-up 10 slots for each date, with a limited number of vehicles allowed to park along East Camino Cielo Road. We will announce additional dates for the fall. Please email Josie Lesage at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (jlesage@sbbg.org) to sign up.

The work we do would not be possible without the support of our community! Please consider donating or becoming a member of the LPFA to help ensure that we can continue to care for the Los Padres National Forest.

Los Padres Forest Closure Update & More…….

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Bryan Conant

*The closure of 9 California Forests, including the Los Padres, has been extended through September 24*

FOREST CLOSURE EXTENDED AGAIN

Hello Friends,

We wish that we had better news to share but it was announced earlier today that the Los Padres, along with eight other California Forests, will remain closed through Thursday September 24 as a result of wildfire safety. As of this morning there were 27 major fires across California with over 18,500 firefighters engaged on the fires. While the weather has certainly cooled as compared to earlier this month, red flag and heat warning remain in the forecast for much of California. Resources (crews, support, air attack, etc…) are spread incredibly thin between California, Oregon and Washington and we collectively cannot afford to have any new fires with the resources being what they are. Once again, this forest closure forbids all access into the forest including trails and forest roads. We realize the inconvenience this has caused, especially for A-Zone hunters who have missed the last two weeks of the season, and hope people will remain patient as this too shall pass (favorite saying for 2020). We’ll provide updates as they are made available. If you have any questions please contact your local Los Padres Ranger Station.

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Sewart Mountain is in the eastern Ojai RD and burned in the 2006 Day Fire. Fourteen years later and we only found a few conifer seedlings within this 20 acre flat along the ridge line. Note how the conifers along the slopes have largely survived. This is a recurring theme we’ve noticed along fire scorched mountains in the southern Los Padres. (Little Pine, Big Pine, Bear Meadow, Madulce, Alamo, Mission Pine, etc..)
Conifers along the slopes tend to survive while those within flats do not.

FOREST 411

There is so much news from around the forest that doesn’t make sense to share at the moment due to the larger scale closure. We’ll save most of that for when the forest reopens but we’ve still got a bunch of things that remain relevant. Let’s go….!

• The largest (and only? knock knock) fire burning in the Los Padres remains the Dolan Fire within the Monterey Backcountry. Currently, Dolan has burned 127,724 acres and is 46% contained with an estimated full containment date of September 28. Some tragic news from the fire is the death of two condor chicks as reported by the Ventana Wildlife Society. And if you hadn’t heard, on September 8th the fire overtook 15 firefighters while they were fighting to protect Nacimiento Station. Fortunately all 15 survived but three did suffer significant injuries. You can read a spine-chilling account here as well as a link to the Big Sur Dolan Fire Relief Fund. #TrueHeroes

• Word on the beach is that sensors are showing La Niña ocean temps forming across the Pacific. La Niña winters are usually on the drier side and lack the large major winter rains that we’ve seen during some of the El Niño events. It’s early, but something worth keeping an eye on, especially after all the fires.

• The major LP news last month was the Reyes Peak Forest Health Project Proposal which received over 16,000 public comments. We talked with the Forest Service and they are currently reviewing the comments and will be sharing those comments with their specialists in order to assess if changes are needed within their proposal. There is no hard time-frame as to when the final decision will be made but we were told it would most likely come in late 2020 or early 2021. If you’ve not read the Reyes Peak Proposal, you really should take a few minutes and look it over. We may not all agree with all aspects of the proposal but we should all agree that we don’t want Pine Mountain to end up looking like Sewart. Stay tuned……

• We’ve started a new monthly feature where we highlight some of the extraordinary volunteers who dedicate their time to the trails, critters, habitat and heritage of the Los Padres Forest. Up first is the dynamic duo husband/wife tandem of Maureen and Kevin Wallace. Read more on our Instagram page and we’re looking forward to highlighting more volunteers in the months to come…

• Late last month South Coast Habitat Restoration and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation completed an aquatic organism passage project where they removed the concrete crossing at the bottom of the Davy Brown Trail. The project was successful but they will be back later this season to complete the job. Eventually they’ll also build bridges at the two Arizona crossings between Davy Brown and NIRA, most likely 2021. More to come….

• Many of you (we’ve been getting the emails) have noticed that HikeLosPadres has been down over the past few days. We’ve been working with the web guru himself to use this forest closure downtime to perform some site updates and maintenance. It’s a race, we’re hoping to get the site back up before the forest reopens. Thanks for your patience….

• Last week the Forest Service shared their decision notice for the Forest-Wide Invasive Plant Treatment Program.

• Camp Scheideck Lodge (aka Reyes Creek Bar & Grill) shut its doors last month. You can read more here. We’re not sure what’s next for the Lodge/Grill but we’re certainly going to miss coming off the Piedra Blanca Trail and having tasty burgers (today happens to be National Cheeseburger Day) and cold drinks. Hope it get resurrected again soon….

• VOTE.

• Last but not least, we’re still looking for a car donation in case any of you have an extra vehicle looking for a new home. We can promise it will be well cared for, fed as often as needed and will have access to some of the best views around the Los Padres. Let us know……

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