Volcan Mountain Foundation

Volcan Mountain Foundation makes most of “bonus period” before owl nesting

Determined to protect and restore the montane forest ecosystem, work crews launched the Volcan Mountain Montane Forest Habitat Resilience Project ahead of schedule to complete important work before nesting season for the California spotted owl began Feb. 15.

Under the supervision of experienced professionals, workers from the California Conservation Corps, CAL FIRE and the Department of Corrections removed “ladder fuels” — the deadfall, dry undergrowth and thickets of seedlings and saplings that crowd taller trees. The treatment at VMF's Volcan Mountain Nature Center strengthens remaining trees by reducing competition while clearing vertical space so fire on the forest floor can’t climb to the forest canopy and eliminate entire groves of mature trees.

Meanwhile, a licensed timber operator crew felled a dozen trees killed by the gold-spotted oak borer. The “hazard trees” stood near roads and structures and were a top priority for removal. The log piles — all that remain of the stately trees — will remain under quarantine to contain the pest's spread.

The work kick-started a three-year restoration program funded by a $1.55 million grant from the Wildlife Conservation Board.  Activities target 165 acres of montane forests, where chaparral and oak ecosystems give way to conifers.

At the upper elevations, more than three-dozen acres are scheduled for reforestation with native conifer seedlings. In the oak forest, the state grant will pay to remove some 200 trees killed by the gold-spotted oak borer.

Most of this work shuts down, however, during the “limited operation period” for California spotted owl nesting from Feb. 15 through Aug. 1. Throughout the restoration area, protocol surveys conducted by state- and federally-permitted biologists are scheduled for the raptor, which is soon to be listed as endangered. Nesting periods for owls stretch across many months because, as birds of prey, they need more time to raise their chicks.

“We are in a holding pattern until these protocol surveys identify that the owls are not present,” said Jonathan Appelbaum, resource ecologist and Volcan Mountain Foundation Board Member.

VMF is implementing the Volcan Mountain Forest Habitat Resilience Project based upon a Forest Management Plan prepared by Kathleen Edwards, a registered professional forester.

During recent weeks, mobilizing the work crews before the owl nesting was fortuitous as the job originally was scheduled to begin this fall.

“We accomplished a promising amount in a short window that was really in our minds a bonus period,” Appelbaum said.

All told, workers treated about seven of the 90 acres slated for hand work. The treated areas on Copper Spur Ranch, at the education center and along the driveway were high-priority because most fire ignitions begin near driveways.

After three years set aside for restoration activities, the management plan calls for a 25-year maintenance and monitoring phase.

For more information, visit www.volcanmt.org.

Contact: Eric Jones, Volcan Mountain Foundation, 760 765-2300 or eric@volcanmt.org