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University of California Santa Cruz –
Wildfire Vegetation Management Plan

Project Partners

University of California Santa Cruz
Ascent Environmental
Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County

Overview of Actions

ARC developed and completed a Wildfire Vegetation Management Plan and supported the development of a CalVTP Project Specific Analysis (PSA)/Addendum for UC Santa Cruz main campus.

The intent of the WVMP is to identify and recommend strategic treatments to enhance ecosystems across the campus landscape, promote resilience against wildfires and the overall effects of climate change, and increase safety for UC Santa Cruz infrastructure, staff, students, and surrounding communities.

ARC Forestry conducted extensive field verification across the UC Santa Cruz campus to design site-specific prioritized treatment areas and treatment prescriptions across 1,000’s of acres, with consideration of sensitive natural resources and campus infrastructure. A Technical Working Group was formulated with key individuals representing various departments and specialties from all partners to develop vegetation management strategies. The Technical Working Group facilitated tours of nearby forest health fuels reduction projects and presentations to staff and students. ARC Forestry also participated in Coastal Zone negotiations, partner coordination, and facilitated initial steps for landscape-level treatment planning and grant development with nearby landowners and partners.

Treatment Status

A completed Wildfire Vegetation Management Plan and CalVTP PSA for UCSC Main Campus. Developed a Santa Cruz collaborative effort to include State Parks and City of Santa Cruz to apply for multiple grant opportunities.

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LOCATION

Santa Cruz, CA

TREATMENT ATTRIBUTES

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

PROJECT COMPONENTS

Documentation

  • Wildfire Vegetation Management Plan – developed
  • CalVTP PSA – development and support
  • Vegetation Treatment Specifications – developed

Field & Operations

  • Field verification and mapping completed supporting the development of documents

STAFF INVOLVED

  • Chloe Knowd, Senior Associate Forester – lead WVMP document development, project layout, mapping, and operational planning
  • Steve Auten, Owner/RPF – project design and strategy, grant development, permit development, and mapping
  • Shelby Kranich, Director of Forest Resilience – direction, grant development, permitting, and field verification
  • David Van Lennep, Chief Forester of Operations – direction, operational planning, and field verification
  • Charlie Hillis, Assistant Forester III – field verification
  • Heath Hooper, Assistant Forester II – field verification