Meet at 8:30am sharp in the lobby of the Modern Americana Hotel.
Meet at 1:00pm at the Ross Ranch (11973 Old Oregon Trail). Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes, sun/rain protection, and a water bottle!
Riverfront Park at Turtle Bay - 800 Sundial Bridge Drive
Network and re-connect with geography students, faculty, and professionals from across the state during this informal event right on the bank of the Sacramento River. If there is enough interest, we'll also host a light-hearted geography trivia competition. Appetizers and non-alcoholic drinks will be provided.
Please note: this event is taking place in lieu of our usual kick-off BBQ to allow a bit more flexibility in the Friday schedule. We hope you utilize the extra time to explore all that downtown Redding and Turtle Bay have to offer!
Riverfront Park is steps away from the iconic Sundial Bridge! We highly recommend you utilize this time to stroll across the bridge to view of the Sacramento River in all its glory. Just across the bridge you'll find the McConnell Arboretum and Botanical Gardens where you can meander through 200 acres of Native trees and plants. If you're looking to explore farther afield, consider renting a pedal-assist bike from the Redding Bike Share right next to the bridge. Cycling is a great way to explore the Sacramento River Trail accessible directly from Riverfront Park!
This year we're trying something a little different! Instead of hosting the BBQ event, we are leaving Friday evening up to you! After the Social Hour in the afternoon, we are hoping you're excited to meet up for dinner with your new colleagues! If you don't want to wander too far or just want to go somewhere you know other CGSers will be, we recommend the restaurant Mosaic which is located right next to the Sundial Bridge. Otherwise, feel free to branch out and explore downtown Redding - there are lots of restaurants within walking distance of the conference hotel! Don't stay out too, late, though - presentations start on Saturday morning at 9am sharp!!
Official CGS Board Members will meet at Mosaic at 8:00pm for the Spring CGS board meeting.
If you have signed up for a day pass or didn't make it to the Friday Social Hour, please stop by the registration table to pick up your badge and conference information. You can also register for a day pass here.
Sean Roberts, California State University, Fullerton
Ana Zepeda, UC Davis
Heather Roberts, California State University, Fullerton
Alexander Ayers, Stanislaus State
Yaniri Piza, Stanislaus State
Tiffani Sandoval Rodriguez, Stanislaus State
Benjamin Kopania, UC Davis
Mitchell Snyder, UC Davis
German Silva, UC Santa Barbara
Matt Schmidtlein, Sacramento State University
Alyssa A. Nelson, UC Davis Institute of the Environment
William Selby, Santa Monica College
Gregory Ira, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Join us at the Shasta College cafeteria to view and celebrate student and faculty posters and cartography. You will also have the chance to participate in our first-ever College Fair! CSU and UC geography departments from across the state will be available to chat with you about their programs.
*Note* If you are an exhibitor or are presenting a poster or map at the conference, please meet at the Cafeteria at 10:30am to set up prior to this event. More info can be found here.
It is well known that northern California and southwestern Oregon are dominated by a Mediterranean Climate characterized by cool/wet winters and warm/dry summers with the degree of each condition moderated or enhanced by distance to the coast and elevation. This type of climate ensures that we have conditions conducive to the ignition and spread of fires on a regular and frequent basis.
Reconstructing the history of fire from place to place helps shed light on how fire appears to have spread across landscapes and influenced the development of vegetative patterns over long periods of time. Tree-ring studies of fire scars and ages of older trees existing before the onset of fire suppression show us that fires occurred quite frequently – many times during the life spans of the older trees. The frequency of fire, interacting with topography and climatic variation, helped to create heterogeneous landscape patterns. The patterns do not appear to have been random, but instead were associated with topographic and soil conditions.
Since the onset of fire suppression, it appears the patterns of vegetative heterogeneity have changed towards landscapes of much greater homogeneity. Fire suppression itself has led to changes in patterns of fire intensity since all but fires burning under the more extreme conditions have mostly been suppressed in their early stages. Thus, fires tend to burn less frequently in most areas helping to increase stand density and fuel accumulation. These changes, along with a warming climate with longer fire seasons, help to increase the area affected by high fire severity. Further, recent research suggests that once areas burn severely, they become more likely to burn severely in subsequent fires. Moreover, these repeated high-severity burns appear to inhibit recovery of what were initially forested areas and may lead to conversion of forested areas to non-forest over the long term.
About Carl Skinner
Carl Skinner is a retired Research Geographer, U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW), Redding, California. He has degrees from Shasta College, UC Berkeley, and Calif. State Univ., Chico. He was introduced to fire early while growing up in the Cascade Range on a farm in Shasta County. His career with the Forest Service began in 1968 on an engine crew on the Lassen NF. He worked in fire management (suppression, prevention, and applying prescribed fire) on both the Lassen and Shasta-Trinity National Forests until 1988 when Carl transferred to PSW in Redding to do research in fire ecology and management. His research with PSW focused on understanding how fire, climate, and management activities interact to influence forest vegetation dynamics and fire hazard. He retired in 2014 on his grandson’s birthday and is now able to spend more time with family (especially grandkids) while still dabbling in science. Carl was presented with the Harold Biswell Lifetime Achievement Award by the international Association for Fire Ecology in 2022.
Alison McNally, CSU Stanislaus
Caroline Keegan, Sacramento State University
Kris Bezdecny, Cal State LA
Benjamin Timms, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
Matthew Derrick, Stanislaus State University
Steve Graves, California State University, Northridge
Celebrate the amazing scholarship of our students with great food and the CGS Awards Banquet. This event will take place in a historic barn at the McConnell Foundation's Ross Ranch property. Please be sure to bring extra layers of clothing to keep you warm during the event... or buy a CGS sweatshirt!
Ross Ranch is located at 11973 Old Oregon Trail. Cones will be set up to guide you to the barn and parking area.
Meet at 9:00am at the Flannigan Road parking lot. More information about the hike available here.