MESOCARNIVORE PRESENCE IN THE LAKE ALMANOR BASIN FOLLOWING THE DIXIE FIRE

Bennie Johnson; Collins Pine Company; bjohnson@collinsco.com;

In July 2021, the Dixie Fire ignited ultimately growing to become California’s largest single incident wildfire on record. By the time the fire was declared contained in late October 2021, the Dixie Fire had impacted over 960,000 acres of Northern California. The wildfire resulted in significant patches of stand replacing fire, particularly in the Lake Almanor Basin and surrounding vicinity of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Prior to the Dixie Fire, 6 consecutive years of camera surveys had been conducted on the Collins Almanor Forest, a privately owned and managed industrial forest in the Lake Almanor Basin, to assess the presence of mesocarnivores. The focus of this project was to document the expansion of a recently reintroduced population of fisher from neighboring timberlands. Immediately following the Dixie Fire, we continued camera surveys within and adjacent to the Dixie Fire footprint to assess potential fisher presence and the presence of other carnivores. Camera stations were stratified by fire severity, which was determined using RAVG canopy cover data along with on-site ground evaluations and were baited using chicken leg and gusto. Fisher were detected within the burn footprint at 4 camera stations, utilizing primarily unburnt islands. Camera surveys will continue during Winter 2022.

Poster Session  InPerson Presentation