Technical Field Tours

Sierra Nevada - Upfront and Personal (T1)
Come experience the Sierra Nevada from East to West and back. Enjoy a boat trip on Lake Tahoe to scenic Emerald Bay and view the aftermath of the Angora Fire. Along the way discuss the biological social and economic situation in Tahoe Basin. Observe over 20 years of stand treatments on the Pacific District of the El Dorado National Forest. Tour the historic nursery and the Institute of Forest Genetics in Placerville and the wine country in the foothills. Explore exemplary open-space protection resulting from county designating agricultural districts. This will be a rich combination of technical and non-technical subjects.

Wednesday, November 5
One-Day Technical Field Tours
7:30 am - 5:00 pm
Fee - $70 (Includes: transportation, lunch, snacks, and beverages)

Biomass Utilization (T2) Tour Full
This tour address biomass utilization, Wildland Urban Interface, and community fire protection plans. The Honey Lake power co-generation plant will be visited and projects with the Bureau of Land Management including fuels reduction work in the wildland urban interface, community involvement, and stewardship contracts.

Industrial Forestry in the Northern Sierra Nevada (T3) Tour Full
This tour will present industrial forestry at the cutting edge by visiting the Sierra Pacific Industries and Collins Pine Company ownerships and mill. These company lands are managed using the best available science under the most rigorously legislated forest practices in the Nation.

Sunday, November 9
One-Day Technical Field Tours
7:30 am - 5:00 pm
Fee - $70 (Includes: transportation, lunch, snacks, and beverages)

Angora Fire (T4)
In 2007, the Angora Fire destroyed over 250 homes. This tour explores the aftermath of this fire. Participants will observe examples of fuel build-up, wildland urban interface, and lessons learned. There will be opportunity to discuss water quality issues related to Lake Tahoe, including prescriptions for riparian areas, and how multi-layered permitting processes impede aggressive action for risk mitigation.

Research and Management for Forest Health in the Sierra (T5)
This tour explores the Sagehen Experimental Forest managed by University of California-Berkeley. Participants will view actual ecological and economic results of broad-scale ponderosa/sugar pine stand treatments on the Tahoe National Forest. Included will be a look at a wild land urban interface project near the town of Truckee, which combines management for forest health and old forest wildlife emphasis.

Landscape Scale Forest and Watershed Restoration (T6)
This tour visits forest and watershed restoration and strategic fuel reduction being conducted as a result of citizen involvement from the Quincy Library Group. Focus will be on aggressive strategic forest restoration, fuel break development, and riparian restoration projects. The tour will focus on the science, public interest and the results of 20 years of implementation on National Forests in the northern Sierra Nevada.

BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program/ Desert Research Institute (T7)
This tour will first visit the BLM Palomino Valley National Wild Horse Adoption Center, which is located just north of Reno near Pyramid Lake. View hundreds of wild horses that have been recently removed from public lands. Learn about Nevada's Wild Horse and Burro Program, adoption center operations, view the facilities, meet volunteers, and experience gentling and handling techniques first hand. During the second half of the tour you will travel to the Desert Research Institute. While there, you will have the opportunity to step into the Virtual Reality Cave, a simulated forest with realistic simulations of wildfire experiences. See weather conditions over the High Sierra and their effects on air quality, visibility, and climate. You will also see current research on desert ecosystems, carbon balance, and soil and water studies.

Aspen Management in East-side Pine Ecosystems (T8)
After enjoying a drive up the beautiful eastside of the Sierra Nevada, this tour will visit the Lassen National Forest which has developed an aspen restoration program that has been recognized as one of the most progressive in the West. You will have the opportunity to learn about the historic distribution, abundance, and ecological role of aspen, contemporary resource issues, management options for improving the ecological viability of aspen habitats, monitoring effectiveness of management, and aspen management in the context of larger landscape-scale ecological restoration opportunities.

Tribal Land Management - Getting It Done On the Ground (T9)
This tour visits the Upper Clear Creek Parcel of the Washoe Tribal lands south of Carson City which consists of 160 acres, gentle to steep terrain, a mixed stand of Jeffery pine and ponderosa pine, with aspen along the waterways. Based on a forest management plan adopted by Tribal Council in 1997, the tribe has accomplished many including firebreaks around the entire boundary, fuels reduction through forest thinning, biomass used to mitigate erosion, and stream bank restoration.

NOTE - If you plan on attending a tour, please wait until Friday, September 5, to make your flight and/or hotel arrangements. Some tours may be cancelled if not enough participants are registered or due to inclement weather. On September 5, all current tour information will be posted on the website under Technical Tours and Leisure Tours. SAF will not be responsible for reimbursing any person(s) for changes in flight or other travel arrangements. If a tour is cancelled, all recipients will be refunded the price of the tour.

*All of the Technical Field and Leisure tours that are listed for convention are going to proceed as scheduled.