Hope for an Icon of the Golden State
Tim Krantz, Ph.D.
Conservation Director
The Wildlands Conservancy
The Wildlands Conservancy’s Experimental Oak Woodlands Preservation Project is a statewide Climate Action designed to address the decline of multiple oak species throughout all or a significant portion of their ranges because of land development, overgrazing, wildfires, non-native invasive species, oak pathogens, prolonged drought, and other impacts associated with climate change. Altogether, California hosts 58 native oak taxa (species and subspecies in the genus Quercus). The GCCO identified nine species of concern in California, including several that occur on or near The Wildlands Conservancy’s preserves.
Together with partners at The Global Conservation Consortium for Oak (GCCO), a series of projects will be designed and implemented at The Wildlands Conservancy’s preserves that support oak ecosystems including Oak Glen, Santa Margarita River Trail, Wind Wolves, and others. We hope to engage with the Native American communities in those areas to help with planning and maintenance of the oak gardens. Oaks in California were the staple food for many Native American communities throughout the state.
The first experimental oak woodland is underway at Oak Glen Preserve. With generous support from Edison International, we will be planting, with several other oak species, one of the rarest of California’s oaks—the Engelmann oak. Found only in Southern California, Engelmann oaks used to occur throughout the Los Angeles basin, south to San Diego, but those populations have largely been urbanized. The Engelmann oak is a member of the “white oak” group, which is resistant to the introduced goldspotted oak borer (GSOB). GSOB was first detected in Oak Glen several years ago and is ravaging the native black oak woodlands. This experimental oak woodland project will not only create a protected site for Engelmann oaks, but also will ensure that oaks continue to thrive in the Oak Glen area.