Let's talk about oak trees
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Just checking in:
These emails are written and compiled by me, Zack Cinek. My project seeks to empower people like you who then become the first to know about budget cuts, pay raises, public records fees or projects that just don’t get media coverage these days like adding an arsenic tainted well to the Willits water supply. And it’s not all gov’t all the time around here, either. Respect is paid to the Valley oak tree in this edition.
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Nature
You may have noticed that the city removed about four or five oak trees from the park.
The trees grew along a fence separating the rodeo grounds from the park. The stumps are still there and if you like trees you can walk right up and count the annual growth rings.
There’s some estimation involved and the ages are more like an estimation than a definitive count.
One was about 146-years-old and another was maybe 90 or 100-years-old. The outer two inches of rings are hard to count as the sap has bled, making the rings difficult to see.
Valley oak trees like those in Rec Grove have the capability of living for hundreds of years.
Trees and Shrubs of California is a good reference book if you want to read more about trees and woody plants in our state.
Valley oaks can live from 400 to 600 years, the field guide stated. It is a species of oak found only in California.
Trees and Shrubs of California and other resources lay claim that a 163-foot-tall and 110-inch-diameter tree in Round Valley is the largest of the species.
In the wood of a Douglas fir, for example, you can often find variations in annual growth attributed to fluctuation of rainfall or changes in the availability of light.
These Rec Grove oaks display annual rings that look uniform and would appear to have fluctuated very little in their lifespan.
In a profile of the species, the US Forest Service cited a 1964 study in which some Valley oak trees were found with roots 80-feet deep!
Little Lake Valley has some fine Valley oaks.
Go to Reynolds Highway and you can find a scenic turnout not far from Highway 101. These days you can see ducks swimming in the shallow water and thick grass.
If you are lucky, you can still hear a symphony of wetland life over the rumble of Highway 101.
County gov’t
The Mendocino County Supervisors lineup is going to look different after the next election.
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