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Los Padres' Communication Center's Michael Kendrick Wins R5 Golden Mic Award
The work performed day in and day out by employees assigned to the Los Padres’ Communication Center often flies under the radar despite the LPCC’s critical role in dispatching resources to everything from traffic collisions to missing persons, and smoke checks to emergency wildfire incidents. The seven-person staff navigates the fast-paced operations from their facility on the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc.
Each year Forest Service dispatchers compete for the Golden Mic award which recognizes the exemplary communication skills, efficiency and professionalism of a select few. Winners of the regional award then go head-to-head with their peers from across the country for the national Golden Mic.
This year, Dispatch Captain Michael Kendrick at the LPCC grabbed the PSW Golden Mic and will represent the Region in a showdown for the national award.
Congratulations Michael and good luck in the national competition!
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Following Extensive Repairs, Rockfront OHV Area Reopens to the Public
One of the more heavily impacted recreation sites from the severe 2023 winter storms was the Rockfront OHV area in the heart of the Santa Lucia Ranger District. Winding through 15,328 acres of challenging terrain, the area provides 41 miles of four-by-four trails that traverse rocky canyons up to ridgelines with spectacular vistas of the Cuyama Valley. Thousands of off-highway enthusiasts visit Rockfront each year, and many consider it one of the crown jewels of OHV recreation on the Central Coast.
After the roads were cleared for work, Santa Lucia’s Dozer 3 crew made its first foray into Rockfront in September 2023 to begin working on the main access road. The dozer’s four-person crew consisted of Mike Fuerch, Sean Kenney, Lorenzo Castillo and Robert Taylor.
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Restoring Los Padres’ Native Steelhead Trout Habitat
The anadromous Southern California steelhead (SCS) trout distinct population segment indigenous to Southern California received Endangered Species status in 1997 due to declining numbers. Over the last two decades, the situation for these trout native to Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) has continued to deteriorate, and the species now have one of the highest levels of federal protection.
Stream conditions and steelhead critical habitat were further degraded by the massive Zaca Fire in 2007 that denuded landscapes above traditional steelhead spawning waters and contributed to greater sediment deposition downstream. As SCS stocks have declined substantially from their historic numbers across the LPNF and other part of Southern California, many are now facing extinction.
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In Memorium - Dave Skinner, Retired Forest Service Engine Captain
On Dec. 13th, 2023, Los Padres National Forest and the Santa Ynez Valley lost a true hero.
Retired Forest Service Engine Captain David Skinner passed away from cardiac arrest in his Buellton home with his wife Candy by his side. Skinner was 77 years old.
Serendipitously, the county fire engine that responded to the Skinner home that night was led by Captain Corey Stowe who 25 years earlier served as Captain Skinner's trusty engineer on Los Prietos Engine 42 on the Santa Barbara Ranger District. Skinner's family remembers Stowe fondly and how he was mentored by Skinner years ago, with the reckoning that if Skinner had to go, it was fitting his former friend and colleague was by his side, comforting his family in their time of need.
The family will be having a celebration of life at the end of April or beginning of May, before fire season. Contact Flemming Bertelsen for more information.
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Mount Pinos Forest Health and Fuels Reduction Project
On April 7, 2021, Los Padres National Forest announced a plan to protect areas of the Mount Pinos Ranger District that are at risk to overstocking and the devastating impacts from disease and insect infestation. This forest health project was initially shared with the public in late 2019 during an open house and field visit to the project area. In 2006 public collaboration began when the project was listed in the Mount Pinos Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
The Mount Pinos Forest Health Project is located within a federally designated Insect and Disease Treatment Area where declining forest health conditions put the area at risk for substantial tree mortality over the next 15 years. In the 2014 Farm Bill, Congress authorized the U.S. Forest Service to prioritize work in these designated areas, and to expeditiously plan and implement projects to address the risk posed by insect and disease outbreaks.
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Protecting Pine Mountain and Reyes Peak
On May 8, 2020, Los Padres National Forest introduced a plan to protect areas of Pine Mountain and Reyes Peak that are at risk due to overstocking and the devastating impacts from disease and insect infestation. The Reyes Peak Forest Health and Fuels Reduction Project lays within a federally designated Insect and Disease Treatment Area where declining forest health conditions have put the area at risk for substantial tree mortality over the next 15 years. The primary goal of this project is reduce tree densities to promote forest resilience to drought, insect and disease, and wildfire. To achieve this goal, professional Forest managers will selectively thin specific areas to enhance forest health across 755 acres on Pine Mountain between California Highway 33 and Reyes Peak in Ventura County.
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Rose Valley Creek Restoration Project
Many public resources and cultural values take place at Rose Valley Creek. Stream and habitat restoration is being proposed for Southern California steelhead and other federally protected wildlife. Along with stream restoration, floodplain function, water-holding properties, riparian vegetation, are expected to increase. Read more...
May 24, 2022 Rose Valley Creek Restoration Project Scoping Meeting
May 13, 2021 Rose Valley Creek Restoration Project Public Workshop Video Recording
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Thomas Fire Burn Area Emergency Response Team (BAER) Report
The US Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team’s purpose is to assess threats to life, property, and cultural and natural resources from fire-induced changes to the watershed that can cause erosion, sedimentation, flooding, and debris flows. The BAER team has completed their reports which provide a synopsis of BAER findings and the Forest Service’s internal request for implementation funding to treat values at risk on Forest Service lands only. The information generated by the BAER team is crucial for further analysis by other agencies affected by the fire to examine off-Forest values at risk within their jurisdiction.
