Portola Redwoods Forest Resiliency Project

This project proposes to restore ecological function, habitat resilience, and fire-adapted forest conditions within Portola Redwoods State Park, and adjacent Save the Redwoods League-owned lands in the Peters Creek watershed, to enhance habitat for special status species, such as marbled murrelet Dudley’s lousewort, coho salmon, and steelhead, and reduce future fire risk through a return to ecologically appropriate disturbance regimes. Additionally, the project will enhance ecological resilience through restoration of a forest structure that supports long-term ecosystem health in both old-growth coast redwood and second-growth stands; reduce the risk and impacts of Sudden Oak Death (SOD) to maintain oak and mixed hardwood communities; maintain and restore meadow and hardwood habitats to support native plant diversity and associated wildlife; enhance native species diversity and structural complexity; promote watershed health; and reduce wildfire risk while maintaining key habitat features. Associated work will: •Utilize prescribed fire, including both pile burning and broadcast burning, to restore the ecological role of fire, promote native plant diversity, reduce fuel accumulations, and create conditions that support healthy understory regeneration; •Create and maintain control lines around burn units, prioritizing protection of old-growth redwoods and wildlife trees; •Thin targeted areas of Douglas-fir encroaching into oak woodlands and meadows to promote native hardwoods and grassland diversity; •Thin second-growth redwood and Douglas-fir stands to reduce stem density, improve forest structure, and accelerate development of late-seral characteristics; •Use manual, mechanical and chemical techniques to control invasive species such as periwinkle (Vinca major), stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens), French broom (Genista monspessulana), and other non-native vegetation; •Remove adjacent surface and ladder fuels to protect murrelet-suitable nesting trees, including those with large crowns, broken tops, platforms, or other structural features; •Install accelerated large wood recruitment (AWR) projects in streams and riparian corridors to enhance habitat availability and complexity for steelhead trout and coho salmon; and •Remove failing and deteriorating culverts along old legacy roads to reestablish natural hydrologic function, improve aquatic habitat connectivity and reduce sediment delivery.