Digital Commons Network^™

Using Novel And Traditional Survey Techniques To Monitor Small Mammal Species In Northwestern California, Sydney Mccluskey

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Small mammal species play a critical role in forest ecosystems contributing significantly to overall forest biodiversity and ecological dynamics. Forest-dwelling species are among the most vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation. It is essential to develop efficient techniques for monitoring small mammal populations in forested ecosystems to inform conservation efforts and management plans; yet, monitoring small mammals in these habitats can be particularly challenging due to their size, activity patterns, and frequently nocturnal nature. In this study, I aimed to address two primary research objectives: 1) compare the effectiveness of 3 distinct camera-trap survey techniques (i.e., ground, tree, and tube) …

Fire Severity Mediates Marten And Fisher Occurrence: Impacts Of The Dixie Fire On A Carnivore Community, Christopher James Collier

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The consumption of an astounding one million acres resulted from California’s largest single fire to date, the 2021 Dixie Fire. The social and economic losses associated with the fire were immediately apparent, but the effects on wildlife remained unknown. While previous research has suggested mixed or low severity fire may be beneficial to certain wildlife species, the responses to megafires are poorly understood for many carnivores. To better understand these responses to severe fire, I used a random sampling design stratified by burn severity to survey in and around the Dixie Fire footprint using baited camera stations. This allowed me …

Basal Topography And Carbon Accumulation Rate Of A Rare Northern California Coastal Fen, Sarah Leidinger

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Increasingly, the importance of peatlands as biodiversity hotpots, year-round water storage features, and significant carbon sinks are being recognized. Despite this, they are one of the most vulnerable ecosystems globally. While some peatland conservation and restoration initiatives are being developed, a greater understanding of small peatlands is needed to make management decisions. This study aims to determine the timing of peat formation, peat volume, and carbon accumulation rates of the Conspicuous Scoop Fen, a small (2.1-acre) fen near Bridgeville, California (~840 m.a.s.l.). During the summers of 2022 and 2023, I collected 39 m of peat cores at 14 sampling locations. …

Check Out The Library, 2023 Fall Issue, Cal Poly Humboldt Library

Library Publications

No abstract provided.

The Lumberjack, September 27, 2023

Cal Poly Humboldt's Student Newspaper

The student newspaper of Humboldt State University.

Modeling Environments Of The Ancients, Daniel Hodges

IdeaFest 2023

Modeling environment probability map of ancient settlements using Geospatial computer software

Humboldt County Gis Data Archive, Liam Del Aguila

IdeaFest 2023

This project is a webpage and potentially touch-screen kiosk which displays GIS datasets currently held by the school. This includes student and faculty projects concerning a variety of geographic data about Humboldt County. The Alpha version of this website is currently in development in coordination with the library and geospatial faculty at Cal Poly Humboldt.

Volume 45: Full Issue

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations 50th Anniversary Edition: Becoming a Polytechnic

Transformative Sea-Level Rise Research And Planning: Establishing A University, Tribal, And Community Partnership For A Resilient California North Coast, Laurie Richmond, Jeff Anderson, Josephine Archibald, Alec Brown, Eileen Cashman, Joice Chang, Clancy De Smet, Yvonne Everett, James Graham, Nayre Herrera, Bente Jansen, Jennifer Kalt, Aldaron Laird, Lonyx Landry, Daniel Lipe, Bonnie Ludka, José R. Marín Jarrín, Jennifer Marlow, Kristen Orth-Gordinier, Jason R. Patton, Frank Shaughnessy, Alyssa Suarez, Alexandra Toyofuku, Amelia R. Vergel De Dios, Hilanea Wilkinson

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Sea-level rise (SLR) is and will continue to be a pressing issue in the rural, North Coast region of California, especially since nearby Wigi (or Humboldt Bay) is experiencing one of the fastest rates of relative SLR on the U.S. West Coast. In this paper, we argue that SLR presents a transformative opportunity to rekindle environmental relationships and reshape the future of the California North Coast and beyond. As the preeminent higher education institution of the region, Cal Poly Humboldt has the responsibility to be a leader in education, research, and planning for climate resilience. We describe efforts of the …

Cannabis, Communities, And Place: (Re)Constructing Humboldt’S Post-Prohibition Present, Josh Meisel, Dominic Corva, Ara Pachmayer

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Since 1990, many Cal Poly Humboldt faculty and students have made cannabis the focus of scholarship and learning. This work has been shaped by the political, economic, and cultural legacies of cannabis in Humboldt County. Scholarly interest spans multiple dimensions of cannabis cultivation, commerce, consumption, and related social issues. As a multidisciplinary team of scholars, Cal Poly Humboldt faculty affiliated with the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research (HIIMR) have also shaped the Bachelor of Arts in Cannabis Studies that will launch in Fall 2023. This is the first social science degree program in the United States with this orientation. …

Introduction From The Editors, Mary Virnoche, Jennifer Eichstedt, Erin C. Kelly, Kyle Morgan

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Introduction from the Editors

Comparative Analysis Of Gas Versus Electric Demand In Tiny House Communities For The Homeless, Christopher D. Beveridge

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Housing insecurity affects many communities. Because they can provide private and dignified spaces for living at low cost, tiny houses have become prominent in discussion about affordable housing. This project assesses whether electric or natural gas space heating provides the most cost-effective option for a tiny house in Arcata, California. Drawing from a comparative analysis between two tiny house communities for the homeless (THCHs), Home Yard Cottages in Spokane, Washington and Opportunity Village in Eugene, Oregon, this project offers recommendations for the eventual development of a THCH in Arcata. Comparison of energy bills from the THCHs with historical weather data …

Hydrologic Outcomes For Ecological Meadow Restoration In The Northern Sierra Nevada, Emma Sevier

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Ecologically functioning meadows provide critical ecosystem services including improving a catchment’s water yield, flood dispersion and attenuation, fostering groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and creating natural fire breaks (Loheide and Booth 2011). Degradation from past and current land use has resulted in incised channels that change the magnitude and timing of watershed and meadow fluxes and cause water table decline. Process-based restoration (PBR) is an approach which leverages fluvial processes to increase restoration efficiency. Though PBR is a promising tool to restore degraded meadow ecosystems, more studies are needed to understand its hydrologic outcomes and whether hydrodynamic modeling can be used as a …

Establishing A Market Capacity And Economic Baseline For Forest Biomass Utilization In The Southern Cascade And Northern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, California, Clarke Stevenson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Attempts to address wildfire risk and forest resilience have increased substantially over the last 20 years with specific interest in removing excess vegetation from stands, commonly referred to as “forest biomass”. However, the market capacity for and the economics of biomass utilization have been a limiting factor to achieving statewide goals for forest health and fire resilience. This thesis looks at the Southern Cascade and Northern Sierra Nevada biomass supply chain to benchmark current market capacity for biomass utilization through mapping and harvest record analysis. It also calculates the net revenue of biomass mobilization based on costs developed from a …

Macrolichen Inventory Of The Horse Mountain Botanical Area, Six Rivers National Forest, California, Usa, Sarah Norvell Conway

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Macrolichen diversity and community composition was determined for an area of high botanical interest in the Coast Ranges of Northern California – the Horse Mountain Botanical Area (HMBA) in Six Rivers National Forest. The Coast Ranges have been suggested to have high epiphytic macrolichen diversity, yet detailed site-specific macrolichen surveys are lacking for the area. Here we present comprehensive data on macrolichens of the HMBA integrated with environmental metadata at the landscape level. Twenty 0.4 ha sampling plots were positioned across the varying habitats of the HMBA and macrolichens were intensively sampled from all substrata. Out of 888 total collections, …

The Effects Of Post-Harvest Residue On Plantation Forest Soils And Early Growth Of Redwood And Douglas-Fir Seedlings In Humboldt County California, Robert W. Raibley

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Forest harvest residue (slash) usefulness has been up for debate among private timberland owners, public land managers, and the timber industry for decades. The disposal of slash, viewed as having low ecological value, has received considerable attention as wildfire risk has made burning it harder. In recent years, forest scientists and ecologists have recognized the importance of decaying wood and its relationship to forest growth and regeneration. At this site in Northern California, we looked at whether forest harvest residue enriches soil near slash windrows through soils coring and lab analyses, looking for primary limited nutrients nitrate (NO₃-N) …

Effects Of Landscape Configuration Metrics On American Barn Owl Nest Box Occupancy And Hunting, Samantha D. Chavez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Harnessing ecosystem services, broadly defined as the benefits nature gives to people, is one approach to minimize the widespread negative impacts of agriculture on wildlife and biodiversity conservation. Conservation biological control is one such service that aims to use natural enemies to reduce crops losses from pests without the use of harmful pesticides, including rodenticides. In Napa Valley, California, human-made nest boxes are deployed on wine grape vineyards to attract barn owls (Tyto furcata) that depredate and remove thousands of rodent pests throughout the nesting season. However, the provisioning of this ecosystem service depends on whether a box …

Sympatric Carnivores And Vegetation Structure Influence The Distribution And Abundance Of Humboldt Martens In Northern California, Erika L. Anderson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Humboldt marten (Martes caurina humboldtensis) is a species facing conservation concern in Oregon and California. Historical populations were subjected to unregulated fur trapping and timber harvest throughout the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries leading to a 90% decline in their distribution. As such, the Humboldt marten is listed as a state endangered species in California, and the analogous ‘coastal marten’ is listed as federally threatened under the Endangered Species Act and classified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Oregon and California. Contemporary populations are small, and isolated, and threatened by habitat loss …

Knobcone Pine Response To Shading From Competing Chaparral Shrubs Following Stand-Replacing Wildfire, Sean T. Lindley

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In northern California, fire regimes are shifting towards more frequent and larger severe wildfire. There is growing concern that this shift poses a threat to biodiversity in the form of cover type change at the landscape scale, resulting in the extirpation of some species in favor of +AD617:AD649well-adapted ones. In northern California, mature serotinous conifers, such as knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata), and resprouting shrub species easily regenerate in severe patches of any size. There is no general consensus regarding the effects of shrub competition on conifer recruitment; conifer response varies with shade tolerance and other abiotic factors. Knobcone …

A Return To The Staging Grounds: Reassessment Of Aleutian Cackling Goose Spring Distribution In North Humboldt Bay, Shaun W. Thornton

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

After a 15-year interval in research, spatial and temporal patterns of the Aleutian cackling goose during spring staging was assessed again in 2022. During my study, 3,389 goose flocks were recorded in Arcata Bottoms staging site, 1 January to 21 April 2022, amounting to an estimated total of 2,248,512 goosedays, which was 336.8% higher than 2007 estimates of 667,485 goosedays. Geese continued to use pastures with a wide range of landscape characteristics primarily represented by livestock grazing practices. Goose use was greater than availability on beef-cattle fields early in the season and dairy-cow fields later in the season. Human disturbances …

Scenario Planning For Building Coastal Resilience In The Face Of Sea Level Rise: The Case Of Jacobs Avenue, Eureka, Ca, Kerry Mcnamee, Evan Wisheropp, Christopher Weinstein, Andrew Nugent, Laurie Richmond

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

This article examines issues surrounding flood control measures for the Jacobs Avenue community located in Eureka, California. This area of northern California is experiencing some of the most rapid rates of sea level rise recorded throughout the state. Researchers conducted interviews with stakeholders, developed geospatial analyses, and reviewed policy documents in order to understand the social, environmental, and political context related to sea level rise planning for Jacobs Avenue. From this information we developed a scenario-based set of management options to guide stakeholders in future decision-making regarding the fate of Jacobs Avenue. We explored the potential challenges and benefits of …

Doc Rock: Mapping Our Way To Service, Loren M. Collins

Redwood Roots Digital Magazine

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Redwood Roots Digital Magazine

No abstract provided.

Subalpine Tree Species Classification Using Remote Sensing Methods And Techniques, Stephanie Jouvet, Brendan Wilson

Research and Management of High-Elevation Five-Needle Pines in Western North America

No abstract provided.

The Lumberjack, February 02, 2022

Cal Poly Humboldt's Student Newspaper

The student newspaper of Humboldt State University.

Social Science Research To Help Advance Regional Coordination And Collaboration Of Sea Level Rise Planning And Adaptation On Humboldt Bay, Kristen Orth-Gordinier

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Humboldt Bay is experiencing the fastest rate of relative sea level rise in California and is likely to experience severe sea level rise (SLR) flooding within the next two decades. The Humboldt Bay shoreline is owned and governed by a patchwork of entities with different missions and jurisdictions so coordination of SLR planning will be critical because flooding of hydrologic areas from tidal waters can cross political boundaries. The goal of this project was to conduct social science research that can inform and advance the development of regional coordination and collaboration related to SLR in Humboldt Bay. To do this, …

Cal Poly Humboldt Publishing Catalog, The Press At Cal Poly Humboldt

Author Resources

A catalog of publications from Cal Poly Humboldt. To view the catalog online, click here.

Drought Responses Across Diverse Conifer Species, Habitats, And Competitive Gradients In Northern California, Gabriel J. Roletti

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Frequent and intense drought events are rapidly altering stand dynamics in western North American forests. Climate, competition, and site characteristics can affect the growth responses of individual trees to drought stress. The ecological and geographical diversity of northern California provides a unique opportunity to measure these responses across species, habitat types, and levels of competitive pressure. This study used dendrochronological techniques and linear mixed-effects models to assess growth responses to drought in four montane and two coastal conifer species across 54 study sites (nine sites per species and 540 trees total) in northern California. Growth was evaluated from 2002-2018 and …

Factors Affecting The Production Of Berries Of The Red Huckleberry Plant In The Redwood Experimental Forest, Kagat G. Mcquillen

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Vaccinium parvifolium (red huckleberry) is a culturally and commercially valued food for different coastal tribes of northwestern California.

Today some tribes are regaining access to ancestral lands, and Indigenous researchers are working to document information about culturally significant plant species and their management to reclaim traditional ecological knowledge and restore food sovereignty.

The present study, focused on red huckleberry, Vaccinium parvifolium, took place in the ancestral territory of the Yurok Tribe, currently managed by the US Forest Service as the Redwood Experimental Forest (REF) in Klamath, CA. Geographic Information Systems-based mapping, forest ecological field data collection, and a literature …

Examining The Impacts Of Beaver Dam Analogues And Groundwater Storage On Miners Creek, California, Miles Munding-Becker

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Beavers have been altering streams in North America for millions of years by impounding water behind their dams. The recent historical removal (intensely throughout the 18^th and 19^th century) of these dams altered the hydrology in low gradient streams from dynamic anastomosing streams and wet meadow complexes to incised channels with little structural diversity. Anthropogenic structures called Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs) are used as a restorative process by mimicking natural beaver dams that can reverse channel incision, increase ponded and groundwater storage, and provide low velocity habitat for aquatic species and vegetation. A system of four original BDAs …