From Ashes to Opportunity
Post-Fire Research and Restoration at Swanton Pacific Ranch
BY ANNMARIE CORNEJO
From a quiet vantage point at Swanton Pacific Ranch, overlooking the valley below, the sweeping landscape tells a story of survival. Trees gnarled into charred remnants stand tall, next to sprouting vegetation that is quickly growing in soil that was once shaded by closed canopies. Birds flutter throughout the countryside as larger birds of prey fly overhead, thriving in an ecosystem that has long sustained them.
Five years ago, when the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fire swept through the ranch, it left behind a scorched, unfamiliar landscape and destroyed most of the structures and infrastructure at the ranch. Just as the natural landscape regenerates after fire, the structural and operational rebirth of the ranch — serving as a vital hub of research and hands-on learning for Cal Poly students across the university — is marking its own renewal and resurgence.
Signs of Renewal
Satellite imagery from the time of the fire shows a broad, ash-gray/brown burn scar appearing along Scott Creek and adjacent drainages, with large swaths of forest canopies lost throughout the ranch. Within a year, noticeable growth of the understory and shrubbery was visible, with redwood stands beginning to show signs of recovery. Slowly over the next several years, compounding impacts of hazard tree removal, salvage logging, and general forest health work became visible at the landscape level. Roads, trails, fences and areas of the forest that experienced high mortality were cleared of hazardous fuels and replanted with conifer seedlings. Today, the landscape looks vibrantly different.
Green growth cloaks the riparian corridors and lower slopes, with cleared areas experiencing a revival of life as planted and natural recruits fight for their future role as Cal Poly’s school forest.
Likewise, the ranch’s facilities are showing gradual improvement, with larger infrastructure plans ongoing. Temporary tent cabin facilities have been built to provide lodging for students attending educational trips and conducting research at the ranch. A new solar-powered livestock watering system was installed, new fencing built and damaged roads repaired. In the past five years, work behind the scenes has sustained the ranch’s future by securing funding to rebuild for future generations of learners and formed partnerships that will continue to build momentum and provide opportunities for students and faculty to study and practice working lands management, conservation and restoration practices in a catastrophic post-fire environment.
Ongoing Research and Recovery
Students are an active part of the ranch’s recovery, research and monitoring work that has been ongoing since the fire, with numerous examples bringing to life Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing ethos. This summer, seven interns spent several months at the ranch working alongside staff to make improvements on trails, fences, irrigation systems and vegetation management plans. The students teamed up with the Santa Cruz Mountain Trail Stewardship program to repair and restore nearly two miles of trails that are central to the ranch, leaving a lasting impact for future visitors and researchers.
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