Pacific Southwest

Title: Identifying and addressing contemporary issues in central coast oak woodlands

Author: Rice, Erin; Piirto, Doug; Larsen, Royce; Tietje, Bill; Cooper, Ryan; Lund, Ulric

Date: 2008

Source: In: Merenlender, Adina; McCreary, Douglas; Purcell, Kathryn L., tech. eds. 2008. Proceedings of the sixth California oak symposium: today's challenges, tomorrow's opportunities. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-217. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: p. 27-38

Station ID: GTR-PSW-217

Description: 
Recently, questions about the extent of thinning, the sustainability of forest management practices, and the compatibility with other uses were raised by the media, agency personnel, and environmental groups. In response, University of California Cooperative Extension and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Natural Resources Management Department collaborated to address these issues. In March 2006, a questionnaire was mailed to landowners of properties greater than 100 acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Monterey counties. A total of 2,786 questionnaires were mailed, with 450 completed and returned (16 percent). The respondents were highly educated, holding degrees in areas other than agriculture or natural resources. Most landowners earned degrees in biology, business, education, law, engineering, or medicine. Over 60 percent of respondents were opposed to any county ordinance. However, 71 percent of respondents said oaks are "important" for their aesthetic value, which indicates support for oak protection. Responding landowners feared the loss of private property rights, and felt that government should not interfere with management on private property. Nearly 73 percent of respondents to our survey make less than 25 percent of their income from their land. Landowners rated their knowledge of oak products marketing, laws and regulations (e.g., Forest Practices Act), forest health (e.g., Sudden Oak Death), and available consulting services as especially poor. A majority of landowners who responded to the survey did not know how to get more information on oak woodland management. The workshop presented on August 17, 2006, in San Luis Obispo, was designed to respond to issues and information needs identified by central coast landowners as well as to provide the latest scientific findings and policies regarding oak woodland management.

Keywords: Central coast, contemporary issues, forest management, oak woodlands, survey

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Citation

Rice, Erin; Piirto, Doug; Larsen, Royce; Tietje, Bill; Cooper, Ryan; Lund, Ulric  2008.  Identifying and addressing contemporary issues in central coast oak woodlands.   In: Merenlender, Adina; McCreary, Douglas; Purcell, Kathryn L., tech. eds. 2008. Proceedings of the sixth California oak symposium: today's challenges, tomorrow's opportunities. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-217. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: p. 27-38.