© 2024 KZYX
redwood forest background
Mendocino County Public Broadcasting
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Local News

Hopland Research & Extension Center, Post Fire

Aug 15, 2018 -- The Hopland Research and Extension Center was evacuated during the River Fire, and about two thirds of it burned. Buildings, livestock, and guard dogs were all spared. But what effect did the fire have on wildlife? I took a walk around some of the upper pastures with HREC comunity educator Hannah Bird. She told me she expects the center to shift its focus to wildfire ecology. The center, she believes, is ideally suited for it, because scientists kept years of data leading up to the fires. As we walked, we encountered many signs of life, including an acorn woodpecker granary tree with nesting cavities in it, pawprints in the road, and a steady stream of ants, bearing edibles into a hole just inches away from the burn zone. How do acorn woodpeckers react when their granary is affected by fire? And how does wildlife change its ways in an altered landscape? We'll get some answers, and a lot of provocative questions, in this walkabout.

Local News