Conservation Confluence November 2018

NEWS FROM WHF

Falling leaves and rain are the most lovely transition into winter. As the year winds down, I thank all of our friends for their support of WIldlife Heritage Foundation. We couldn’t do our work without you!

My best,
Darla Guenzler, Executive Director

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CALIFORNIA AND WILDFIRES

Wildfires are a natural process and have aided in shaping California’s wildlands for many thousands of years. They stimulate new plant growth by reducing the accumulation of other vegetation and many other benefits for the land. However, recently, wildfires in our state have burned faster and hotter due to our decades-long work to suppress fires because of development and many other factors.

We are happy to report that no WHF properties burned in the recent intensive firestorms in Butte County, and while that is good news to us, our hearts go out to those who lost everything. We hope that the silver lining of these devastating events will be new ideas and energy focused on how we can improve management and reduce the occurrence of the highly destructive wildfires alpha pharma in our state.

-Kelly Velasco, Associate Director

*photo courtesy of krcrtv.com

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GOBBLE GOBBLE!

On any given day, and especially on our oak woodland properties, it is a common sight to see a flock of turkeys roaming around. Although not a native bird, wild turkeys occupy approximately 18% of our state. Turkeys prefer habitat that is a mix of large trees with grassy openings near water. They are ground-nesters, with females laying between 8-15 spotted eggs at a time. A lack of predators of these highly-adaptable birds has allowed their populations to explode in California.

-Kelly Velasco, Associate Director

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EDUCATION ALONG AUBURN RAVINE

Last week we had the opportunity to participate in a walking tour of Auburn Ravine with 15 middle school students from the United Auburn Indian Community. As part of the tour, they learned more about this important watershed with the help of a watershed model WHF purchased through a grant from the Lincoln Community Foundation.

We welcome every opportunity to allow young students to connect with our local natural spaces!

-Veronica Griffiths, Education Coordinator

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