Santa Cruz Forests Blog

Folks, we have unfortunately had a confirmed detection of the invasive shothole borer (ISHB) in the Felton area of the Santa Cruz Mountains, near East Zayante Road and Graham Hill Road. This is the first ISHB infestation that has been confirmed in the County.

Attention all Santa Cruz Mountains Forest Enthusiasts! Our friends over at the UCANR Fire Network, in collaboration with numerous local partners, have put in an incredible amount of work to bring together the first annual CENTRAL COAST GOOD FIRE FAIR.

Are those moths? What are they doing to my oaks? Why are they out in the daytime? If you live in the Santa Cruz area (or much of the Bay Area) and have coast live oak or other oak species on your property, you have probably been wondering these exact questions. Bird? Plane? No-- California oak moth.

I'm excited to announce we have a great webinar planned in June covering coast redwood ecology and stewardship both pre- and postfire! Join me and two of my amazing UCANR colleagues Kristen Shive and Cleo Wlfle Hazard. Sign up free at https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.

Whether you've been hiking or driving through the CZU Fire burn footprint in the Santa Cruz Mountains, you might have noticed that the understory of the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests look quite different from how they did before the fire.