RPP Demonstration Project Highlights

Capacity Building in Action

Demonstration projects are implementation projects that were developed and executed with partners through subgrant agreements, and each models a potential solution for an identified regional capacity barrier. Through round 1 funding, gaps and opportunities were identified to build partnerships and regional capacity, and then investments were made in demonstration projects with seven partners including non-profit organizations, tribes, practitioners, community Fire Safe Councils, and other community groups.

The demonstration project types funded through RFFC round 1 include Indigenous workforce training programs, targeted GSOB management, and resources for planning and capacity building. In addition to investing in partner capacity, RCDGSDC also invested in strengthening the capacity of the program to increase outreach and engagement, development of systems for data collection and stewardship, and curating resource toolkits.

Indigenous Workforce Training Programs

CLIMATE SCIENCE ALLIANCE INDIGENOUS FIRE STEWARDSHIP CADRE AND WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAM

Pictured: Arborist Training Class

Photo Courtesy: Joelene Tamm

In collaboration with Climate Science Alliance and the Tribal Working Group, the Stewardship Pathways Program was developed to address many of the capacity issues in the region, such as Tribal economic and workforce development, interagency collaboration, shortage of trained field crews, and the inclusion of cultural and prescribed burning as potential fuel management tools.

The program is open to people from across Southern California who are interested in creating or expanding a career focused on advancing Indigenous climate stewardship. Climate Science Alliance staff oversee the administration and management of the program. They coordinate the Southern California Interagency Wildland Fire and Fuels Cadre, a group of partners, who contribute their time and expertise to plan and implement the trainings. The program is hosted by the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, under the leadership of Chief Wesley Ruise Jr. and Joelene Tamm. This wildland fire and fuels training program is unique in that it brings technical training together with climate science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

NATIVE AMERICAN CONSERVATION CORPS PROGRAM- CA STATE PARKS COLORADO DESERT DISTRICT

In collaboration with CA State Parks – Colorado Desert District, the Native American Conservation Corps (NACC) program was designed along the lines of a Conservation Corps with the objective to offer youth from local Tribes knowledge and on-the-job experience during their sixmonth training session in the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Ultimately the goal of the NACC program is to provide youth with the training and experience needed to access careers in forest management and wildland fire, whether they choose to work in their own community or with a local agency.

The first round of the program was made possible through collaboration of partners including: San Diego River Conservancy, Kumeyaay-Diegueno Land Conservancy, CA

Targeted Goldspotted Oak Borer (GSOB) Management Efforts

Goldspotted Oak Borer (GSOB) Agrilus auroguttatus is an invasive pest contributing to the ongoing oak tree mortality occurring in many areas of San Diego County, including on federal, state, private, and Native American lands. Isolated areas of infestation have also been confirmed in Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino Counties in southern California. Widespread oak mortality can have severe implications for the environment and human safety (gsob.org). The RCDGSDC has invested in targeted GSOB management efforts that encourage communities to work together in research, education, outreach, and implementation efforts to address the current and potential impacts of GSOB.

LA JOLLA BAND OF LUISEÑO INDIANS

Cultural and economic resources on the lands managed by the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians have been severely impacted by GSOB. Hundreds of trees on the lands managed by the Band are dead or in the process of dying due to this beetle. Funding supported the development of a Natural Resources Department within the Tribal government to mitigate the significant number of hazardous trees, creating falling hazards and high wildfire fuel loads. La Jolla works

to combat climate change and mitigate these disturbances through active forest management practices. The natural resource program currently employs a crew of seven, two of which are experienced sawyers, two biomass processors, two managers, and an intern. Focus areas include biomass utilization, tree removal, tree health surveys, integrated pest management, silviculture, outreach and education, internships, and research partnerships.

Pictured: 2021 NACC Participants and Staff State Parks, RCDGSDC, San Diego Canyonlands, and the Santa Ysabel Iipay Nation.

OAK GROVE

The small rural community of Oak Grove on the north side of Palomar Mountain is demonstrating tools and techniques to successfully control Goldspotted Oak Borer (GSOB) infestation in a mature oak woodland. To save these historic oak trees, RCDGSDC partners with the Oak Grove community and a practitioner to leverage an ongoing local effort and invest in support of the monitoring and treatment of more than 2,600 oak trees annually since 2020. Funding supported contracting with Green Tree Forest Service in partnership with University of California wildlife biologist Dr. Tom Scott to utilize the Carbaryl trunk spraying treatment method and analysis. In 2022, the project produced a how-to video documentary and outreach materials. The Oak Grove GSOB Project serves as a model for community action, early detection, monitoring, and best treatment practices to save the greatest number of oak trees at the least cost.

NATE HARRISON SERENITY RANCH

RFFC partner Tree Culture Institute implemented a silviculture management strategy in a GSOB infested mixed oak woodland on Palomar Mountain at the Nate Harrison Serenity Ranch. The project included biological surveying and monitoring, gathering oak tree health data including GSOB infection rate, manual understory fuels reduction, hazard tree felling, and grazing. The project was designed to demonstrate the efficacy of the silviculture method to reduce flammability and improve forest health. Project data was collected as a GIS dataset to support continued monitoring of this site in high detail.