NEWS

The power of Mother Nature

Sheyanne Romero
A wild fire burned through the 50-acre Sycamore Trail at Kaweah Oaks Preserve in June.

Conservation is a balancing act. Ecologists have the difficult task of altering natural landscapes for the public’s safety while also preserving the native species.

Local ecology experts Dr. Jon Keeley, Bobby Kamansky and Robert Hansen gave a tour of Kaweah Oaks Preserve and spoke on the effects of fire on wild lands Saturday morning.

The educational event was held six weeks after a wildfire burned through the preserve’s 50-acre Sycamore trail.

“Fire is a natural phenomenon,” Keeley said. “The origin of land plants goes back hundreds of millions of years. Plants have co-evolved with fire.”

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Fire ecology is an integral part of maintaining ecosystems, he said. Although wildfires and prescribed burns have very different effects on nature, both can help renew forest land.

Prescribed burns serve two purposes: protect the public’s health and safety and increase the abundance of native species, said Kamansky.

“CAL FIRE told Kaweah Oaks Preserve [conservationist] cattle grazing wasn’t enough to reduce fuel load,” he said.

Prescribed burns regularly take place at the preserve. Weeks before the wildfire, CAL FIRE conducted a burn to eradicated a non-native, invasive weed known as the yellow star thistle. Native grass is beginning to sprout in place of the weed.

However, there is no cure-all method to eradicate every exotic species on the land, said Hansen.

“I love fire and the intriguing things it can do to natural landscapes,” he said. “It plays a significant role in ecology.”

Portions of Sycamore Trail are still closed to the public.

California’s drought played a part in the Sycamore Trail fire. Passersby along Highway 198 can see the major impact of the ongoing drought particularly at the preserve's west end, where hydrogeological factors differ from the rest of the preserve, spokesperson for Sequoia Riverland Trust, the nonprofit managing the preserve, Aaron Collins said.

Since Kaweah Oaks Preserve's establishment in 1983, the water table has dropped from 8 feet to nearly 50 feet, due to various factors.

Personnel from SRT were rerouting a portion of Sycamore trail due to hazardous, overhanging limbs from a tree. The weed removal device being used sparked the fire, and dry surroundings were fuel to spread the flames. CAL FIRE, Tulare County Fire, and Farmersville fire departments worked for nine hours to control the spread of flames.

Kamansky was pleasantly surprised by the rapid regrowth springing up along the ash-covered trail. Both he and SRT staff were especially shocked by the forest’s resiliency because there has been no rain since the fire.

“The trees are re-sprouting,” he said. “That tells me that there is ground water somewhere, and it wants to be a forest.”

Native grass is sprouting two months after CAL FIRE conducted a prescribed burn.

Portions of the Sycamore trail have been closed indefinitely while SRT conservation scientists determine the best course ahead to rebuild the trail. Replanting is expected to take place in October or whenever there is rainfall. The staff is seeking volunteers to help with planting new trees, SRT Volunteer Director Bud Darwin said.

Scientists monitoring the riparian forest are using the drought as an opportunity to learn about the resiliency of the preserve’s ecosystem. Data is being collected by various research groups tracking tree mortality as well as the health of the native and exotic plant life.

“The one thing I’d like to leave you with is the resiliency of nature,” Kamansky told those in attendance. “This is an opportunity for the community to learn about the preserve and get involved.”

Kaweah Oaks Preserve, a 344-acre nature preserve, protects one of the last remaining valley oak riparian forests in the San Joaquin Valley. More than 300 plant and animal species live, feed or reproduce at the nature preserve.

The public can support Sequoia Riverlands Trust for future preserve restoration efforts by visiting https://sequoiariverlandsorg.presencehost.net/what-you-can-do-see/donate.html.

Ecological Consultant, Bobby Kamansky, talks about the affects of fire on the natural landscapes.
COS Professor, Robert Hansen, spoke at Kaweah Oaks Preserve’s fire ecology event.