Guidelines for
Managing California's
Hardwood Rangelands
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA D1v1sioN OF AGRICULTURE & NATURAL RESOURCES PUBLICATION 3368
1996
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
INTEGRATED HARDWOOD RANGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF flSH & GAME
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY & FIRE PROTECTION
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Table of Contents
Preface ......................................................................................................................................................................................... i
Part I - The Hardwood Rangeland Resource
Chapter 1 - Setting Goals for Hardwood Rangeland Management ......................................................................... 1
Chapter 2 - Oaks and Habitats of Hardwood Rangelands ........................................................................................ 8
Chapter 3 - Resource Assessment and General Hardwood Rangeland Values ........ .......... ............... ......... ......... 18
Chapter 4 - Oak Woodland Wildlife Ecology, Native Plants, and Habitat Relationships .......... ....... .................. 34
Part II - Hardwood Rangeland Management
Chapter 5 - Livestock and Grazing Management ..................................................................................................... 51
Chapter 6 - Developing Recreational Sources of Income from Oak Woodlands ................................................. 68
Chapter 7 - Open Space and Private Land Solutions to Hardwood Conservation ............................................. 78
Chapter 8 - Resource Evaluation for Forest Products ............. .. ....... ......... ....... .... .................................................... 82
Part Ill - Sustaining Hardwood Rangelands
Chapter 9 - Sustainable Management of Hardwood Rangelands: Regeneration and
Stand Structure Considerations - ................................. ... .................................. ............ ...................... ..... ....... ...... ...... 98
Chapter 10 - Fire in California's Hardwood Rangelands ............................... .............. ........ .... ............................. 110
Chapter 11 - Erosion Control ..................................................................................................................................... 115
Appendices
Appendix A- Vertebrate Wildlife Species and Habitat Associations .................................................................. 120
Appendix B - Sensitive Plant Species on Hardwood Rangelands ........................................................................ 146
Appendix C - Sources of Assistance ......................................................................................................................... 158
Appendix D - References ...................................................................................... ...................................................... 162
Appendix E - Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................................... 170
Technical Coordinator: Richard Standiford
Editor: Pamela Tinnin
Contributing Authors (Listed Alphabetically):
Ted Adams, UCD
James Bartolome, UCB
Mike Connor, UC Sierra Foothill Research &Extension Center
Lee Fitzhugh, UCD
Bill Frost, UC - IHRMP
Barry Garrison, CDF&G
Mel George, UCD
Greg Giusti, UC - IHRMP
John Maas, UCD
Doug McCreary, UC - IHRMP
Neil McDougald, UC - IHRMP
Kevin Shaffer, CDF&G
Tom Scott, UC - IHRMP
John Shelly, UC Forest Products Laboratory
Richard Standiford, UC - IHRMP
Bill Tietje, UC - IHRMP
Bob Timm, UCHopland Research and
Extension Center
---------- Guidelines for Managing California's Hardwood Rangelands----------
Guidelines for Managing California's Hardwood Rangelands------------
Preface
California's hardwood rangelands cover estimated 11 million acres in the state. This area is characterized by an overstory canopy of at least ten percent cover of hardwood tree species, predominantly in the oak genus
(Quercus), with an understory of annual grasses, forbs and occasional native perennial grasses. There are an addi-
tional 2.5 million acres of oak savannah, with less than a 10 percent oak canopy cover. Since European settlement
of California, hardwood rangelands have been managed primarily for livestock production. These areas have
taken on a new importance because of the recognition that they are one of the richest wildlife habitats in the state,
with at least 313 terrestrial vertebrate species relying at least partly on hardwood rangelands for habitat. Other
public values provided by these areas include water quantity and quality, erosion and sediment control, outdoor
recreation, and aesthetics. Management decisions by landowners and managers are important, since over 80 per-
cent of California's hardwood rangelands are in private ownership.
The purpose of this book is to help landowners and managers of hardwood rangeland properties develop
management plans that maintain the profitability of their properties, while at the same time sustaining the eco-
logical values provided by their land . There is no one best management system or one best set of guidelines.
These guidelines will lead the reader through a close evaluation of their goals and objectives for their personal
lives and their properties, and present a variety of management strategies to achieve these goals and objectives.
This book is a revision of The Preliminary Guidelines for Managing Hardwood Rangelands, released in 1986 by the
University of California. It incorporates nine additional years of research and experience developed by the
University's Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program and other universities and agencies.
This book consists of three parts. Part I (The Hardwood Rangeland Resource) presents a framework upon
which sustainable management is built. Setting conservation, economic, and quality of life goals, and assessing
your resources are prerequisites for both economic success and success in maintenance of land values. Part I con-
cludes with a chapter on oak woodland wildlife ecology and habitat relationships.
Part II (Hardwood Rangeland Management) presents four chapters on enterprises that can contribute to the
economic and quality of life goals. First, the livestock enterprise on hardwood rangelands is examined, including
relationships of oaks to forage production, grazing management, animal health issues, and predator management.
Livestock grazing is still the major economic use of hardwood rangelands, with over two-thirds of the total acres
grazed by domestic livestock. Fee hunting and other forms of outdoor recreation are discussed in this section, and
how these enterprises allow owners to capture economic benefit. A chapter on open space values shows how
owners can receive economic benefit from amenity values, which previously had been provided for free. A chap-
ter is also presented on firewood utilization and other specialty wood products.
Part III (Sustaining Hardwood Rangelands) addresses management of hardwood rangelands to sustain their
long-term economic and ecological values. Hardwood conservation is discussed at the regional and local level
and at the individual tree and watershed level. Evaluations of the the relationships of fire and erosion to the long-
term sustainability of hardwood rangelands conclude Part III.
With past wise stewardship of these lands by the owners and managers, hardwood rangelands continue to be
a rich source of ecological value. As pressures for competing uses for these lands intensifies in California due to
rapid urban population expansion into areas that were previously rural, it is important to ensure the economic
well-being of the owners. The most cost-effective form of conservation of hardwood rangelands is maintaining
sustainable economic enterprises. With rising public concerns about conservation of hardwood rangelands, there
is an increased interest in the development of management practices and local guidelines for different areas of the
state. This book is written for California's hardwood rangelands as a whole, and not for those in one particular re-
gion or county. It is hoped, however, that the general information, the processes described, and the references pro-
vided can help landowners, and resource management professionals develop site specific management
recommendations and policies suited for local conditions.
A prudent approach to all decisions on hardwood rangelands is: preserve your options. Oak trees are long-
lived because they are adapted to wide fluctuations in climatic conditions, periodic insect and disease outbreaks,
and relatively benign but persistent human land uses. However, oak trees on hardwood rangelands are sensitive
to drastic changes in land management, and once the trees are killed or removed, they are difficult to replace. Pre-
serving your options helps to ensure that decisions you make today do not adversely affect your options in the fu-
ture.
----------- Guidelines for Managing California's Hardwood Rangelands-----------
Guidelines for Managing California's Hardwood Rangelands-------------
Chapter One
Setting Goals for Hardwood
Rangeland Management
Primary authors: Richard Standiford, Univ. of California, Berkeley; and Melvin George,
Univ. of California, Davis
This chapter will help you through the process of critically assessing your goals for a hardwood rangeland property. What are you trying to achieve with your hardwood rangeland property and how do you plan to
use your time, effort, money, and management skills to accomplish this? A systematic evaluation of these ques-
tions helps determine your management goals. Management is simply an activity directed toward attainment of
your goals. Therefore, the goals you set will provide direction to all your management efforts. Worksheet 1-1 will
help you to develop the goals for your hardwood rangelands.
Types of Goals
All of us have goals that we work toward over many years - goals such as debt-free ownership of a farm or
ranch, or "burning" the mortgage on the family home. Some goals require a lifetime to achieve. Others can be at-
tained in a year, a few years, or a decade. Goals are typically written as action statements. " To complete ... " or
"To earn ... " or other action statements are often used to introduce a goal. Shown below are three broad categories
of goals - namely conservation goals, economic and production goals, and quality oj life goals - which will greatly influ-
ence how you manage your hardwood rangelands.
Conservation Goals - What are your general goals for the long-term conservation of the resources on your prop-
erty? In this book, we take the view that there are minimum levels of resource protection that individuals should
attain through their management activities. However, many hardwood rangeland owners have conservation
goals that exceed these minimum threshold values. They actively promote the concept of resource stewardship,
whereby owners look at themselves as stewards of the broad array of market and non-market resources found on
a property. Some of the general conservation goals for a property might include:
• Sustain existing resources - This would include sustaining the existing diversity of biological organisms on
a property. It also seeks to maintain the ecological processes and habitat characteristics on hardwood
rangelands at a variety of scales ranging from the individual tree to the watershed level.
• Enhance or improve resources - Owners may wish to improve the general condition of the natural resources
on their hardwood rangeland property. This may involve planting oaks on areas where they once stood,
or improving riparian habitat to enhance wildlife values and improve water quality.
• Improve water quality and quantity- Hardwood rangelands are under the auspices of various state and fed -
eral water quality programs. Landowners often wish to go beyond these minimum standards and reduce
erosion from road networks or locate the source of gully erosion and adopt practices to reverse these pro-
cesses. Landowners may also wish to enhance the water supply from their land for livestock and wildlife
use.
• Maintain aesthetic values - In a recent survey of landowners asking why they were interested in the oaks on
their property, one rancher replied, "Because the oaks make my property look like a ranch, and not a
farm." Most owners are concerned with the consequences of their management activities on the appear-
ance of their land. The beauty of hardwood rangelands helps maintain aesthetic and economic values of
the property.
----------- Guidelines for Managing California's Hardwood Rangelands-----------
1
2
Economic and Production Goals - The setting of economic goals may involve sitting down and evaluating the
economic needs of your family. How willing is the family to accept risk? What kind of cash flow is needed to pro-
vide for your family's basic needs? When do you need capital to purchase new equipment, or to send your chil-
dren to college, or to take a vacation? Careful evaluation of each item listed below will help you to set these goals.
• Risk - How much risk are you willing to accept? How many years can an enterprise lose money? How
much of a savings cushion is there? How heavily leveraged is the enterprise? Landowners may be will-
ing to invest a certain percentage of their assets in more risky investments once their basic living ex-
penses are ensured because of possible high rates of return. A general rule of thumb is that investments
with high rates of return often have high risk.
• Cash flow - How often are returns required? Is this the sole income source for the family? Are there special
upcoming expenses (i.e. college, new home, etc.)? How much reserve is needed for unanticipated ex-
penses (medical needs, etc.)? Carefully evaluate your cash flow needs.
• Profit - What rate of return on invested capital is needed? How does this stack up with other investment
opportunities available? Is it better to invest your money in a new enterprise on your hardwood range-
land property, or to take that money and put it into the bank or a mutual fund?
• Estate planning - How interested are your heirs in managing hardwood rangeland property? How do es-
tate taxes figure into long-term sustainability? Hardwood rangeland owners need to carefully consider
the value of their estate, and plan to find ways to reduce the impact of estate taxes on the continued own-
ership and production.
Quality of Life Goals - Each person is unique in the kind of lifestyle they desire for themselves and their family.
What kind of person are you and how can your management activities help support the quality of life you desire
for yourself or your family? How interested are you in working with other people? Are you comfortable with the
idea of supervising labor or do you want your property to be a strictly family-run business? Do you enjoy work-
ing outdoors doing manual labor or do you prefer to spend your time on business and marketing activities?
• Preservation of lifestyle - Many ranchers own hardwood rangelands and desire to preserve a lifestyle that
previous generations of ranchers have established. These individuals must carefully evaluate manage-
ment alternatives and economic enterprises that may influence how they and heir children will live upon
their rangelands.
• Personal contact with others - Some people enjoy owning hardwood rangeland because of the peace and
solitude it offers. Others like working with people and providing a service to them. You need to carefully
consider your aptitude and interest in working with people, as that will impact the kinds of management
activities and enterprises that will be most appropriate for your situation.
• Marketing skills - Many hardwood rangeland enterprises require a great deal of effort to develop markets
for the products or services provided. How willing are you to work on marketing? Do you have the skills
or interest to develop new markets? There are lots of opportunities to expand the economic base of hard-
wood rangeland properties for individuals who have a keen interest in developing markets. However, if
that is an area you are not comfortable with, you would be better to stick to enterprises that have well-
developed markets.
• Labor relations - Do you intend to hire outside labor to carry out the enterprise, or is this to
