While walking in the woods, you’ve likely encountered a dead log engraved with maze-like squiggles. These natural carvings are known as beetle galleries, and the grooves are munched out by the larvae of bark beetles in the subfamily Scolytinae.
Tag: wildfire
Winter Issue 2023
A Santa Cruz Forest Reborn, After a Century Off-Limits
San Vicente Redwoods in Santa Cruz. Trail: 4.4 mi, 442 ft elevation gain, loop
Stewardship
In Bay of Life, an Internationally Renowned Media Duo Look to Their Monterey Backyard
With Bay of Life, Frans Lanting and Christine Eckstrom wanted to go past Monterey Bay’s natural beauty to explore its past, present and possible futures.
Parks
In the Wake of Wildfire, Big Basin Redwoods State Park Partially Reopens to the Public
Big Basin State Park is not the lush, shady ancient forest it once was. In August 2020, 97 percent of the old-growth forest nestled in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains burned in the devastating CZU Lightning Complex fire. … Read more
Spring Issue 2022
Learn to Burn
Scientists estimate that California needs to burn one million acres a year to prevent catastrophic wildfires. That’s more than a single agency can
manage, but if you teach one million people to burn one acre each …
Fire
Why Are There So Many Fires, and Other Common California Wildfire Questions
Wildfires have become larger, more frequent, more severe, and more destructive to human life and property in many ecosystems in California in recent decades. If you’ve lived in California for a while, it might feel like this has suddenly become … Read more
Summer Issue 2021
Beyond the Plume of Smoke
“While acute smoke is bad for human and environmental health, smoke in moderation can be part of human and environmental health and well-being.”
Summer Issue 2021
Living with Fire
There’s no option to live without fire in California, and setting small, controlled fires could help keep the large, unruly ones at bay. But what would an increase in controlled burns actually look like, and how would they impact our open spaces, wildlife, air, and water?
Summer Issue 2021
Sculpting California, Post-Fire
Artist Ashwini Bhat reckons with intensifying blazes in her adopted home in Sonoma County
Summer Issue 2021
Redwood Memory
Old redwood trees have seen fire many times in their lives. It’s because of their fire scars—not in spite of them—that the redwood forest thrives.
