In the Peninsular and Transverse Mountain Ranges of Southern California, montane forests (above 1200 m/4000 ft in elevation) are primarily restricted to “sky islands” of mixed conifer and hardwood species. Montane forests protect the upper watersheds of all the region’s major rivers, providing about 40% of the water used for human, agricultural, and industrial purposes in Southern California. However, these forests are facing numerous threats, including intensifying cycles of precipitation and drought, increasing temperatures, major bark beetle and goldspotted oak borer outbreaks, tree mortality events, severe wildfire, urban development, and invasive species. All of these have the ability to greatly impact the health and persistence of montane forests. Conservation of these forests is contingent upon
updating and integrating our understanding of how to manage in ways that reduce forest vulnerability to severe disturbances such as fire.
In late 2020, we established the Southern California Montane Forests Project, a collaboration of the U.S. Forest Service, the USGS Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, San Diego State University, and the Climate Science Alliance. To advance the goal of conserving montane forests of the Southern California sky islands and sustaining the ecosystem services and benefits they provide, this collaboration has created a regional conservation strategy; developed large-scale treatment priority maps for reducing fire risk; summarized the best available management guidance in an interactive, online format; and supported postfire restoration planning for major fires in the region. Our efforts have supported decision makers in moving past barriers and created a strong scientific foundation for advancing projects with public and partner backing. The project has also developed regional co-stewardship and promoted the implementation of forest treatments at the right scale in the right places, while using all available tools to achieve better stewardship
