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Ten Approved Governor’s Suspensions

Project Partners

San Luis Obispo County FireSafe Council, Upper Salinas-Las Tablas Resource Conservation District, San Mateo Resource Conservation District, City of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara County FireSafe Council, Hearst Ranch, and Covell Ranch

Overview of Actions

10 Governor’s Suspension (GS) projects were developed, field verified, submitted, and approved as of October 2025 to advance critical forest health and wildfire resilience efforts on California’s Central Coast across 1,100 acres. Seven of the GS’s are under active treatment operations.

Three projects promote the resilience and protection of the 911 Emergency Operations Center in Santa Cruz, City of Santa Cruz critical water infrastructure, and City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation landscapes near communities.

Seven additional projects focus on reducing wildfire risks across regional landscapes surrounding the community of Cambria and restoring forest health to ecologically significant Monterey pine stands.

    • The Hearst and Covell Ranch projects in Cambria target thinning overgrown Monterey pine forests to reduce hazardous fuels while improving long-term forest resilience and wildlife habitat.

  • The other five projects in Cambria address wildland–urban interface areas where homes, evacuation routes, and coastal resources are at risk, creating defensible space and reducing ladder fuels that can drive severe fire behavior.

Treatment Status

Initial treatments on four projects are complete, two other projects are underway, and four other projects are expected to be complete in 2026.

After

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After

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LOCATION

Santa Cruz County
San Luis Obispo County

TREATMENT ATTRIBUTES

  • Forest Health Fuels Reduction
  • Roadside Treatments
  • Hazard Tree Removal
  • Invasive Species Management

PROJECT COMPONENTS

Documentation

  • Ten Governor’s Secretarial Suspensions – Submitted and Approved
  • ARC Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for treatment implementation compliance under the Governor’s Environmental Protection Plan (EPP) – Developed

Field & Operations

  • Operational layout and mapping completed
  • Avena and ArcGIS Field Maps in use
  • Conducted contract compliance on treatment implementation

STAFF INVOLVED

  • Steve Auten, Owner/RPF – permit development, mapping and supervision
  • David Van Lennep, Chief Forester of Operations – direction, operational planning, field verification, and supervision
  • Shelby Kranich, Director of Forest Resilience – direction, permitting, field verification, and operational supervision
  • Heath Hooper, Assistant Forester II – mapping, permitting, and operational supervision
  • Lindsey Jasperse, Assistant Forester III – mapping, permitting, field verification, and operational supervision (Former Staff)
  • Nolan Hayes, Lead Forestry Technician – marking trees, field verification, and layout