Michael Kauffmann

I grew up in the eastern deciduous forests of Virginia, where I would stare out the window in the winter, hooting for barred owls and wonder…why are some of those trees still green? I nurtured my evergreen conifer fascination in the Appalachian Mountains during college and, upon graduation, found a job teaching outdoor education in California.

Sans family, alone in the West, I began to hang out with giant sequoias and foxtail pines on weekends. The high country conifers of southern California entertained me for many years until the temperate rainforest eventually called me north to Humboldt County. I now live in Kneeland, California with my crafty wife, Allison, and two boys, Sylas and Asa.

I work as a devoted educator with the Fortuna Elementary School District, a curriculum specialist with Save the Redwoods League, the founder and president of the Bigfoot Trail Alliance, owner of Backcountry Press, and research ecologist with the California Native Plant Society.

Above all, I am driven to connect people with the natural world through questioning, observing, adventuring, and documenting.

The first comprehensive regional natural history is here!

Edited by Michael Kauffmann and Justin Garwood.

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The Klamath Mountains: A Natural History

• The first comprehensive Natural History written for this region.
• 34 contributing authors–all experts in their fields.
• Full color, rich illustrations, well-curated photographs, and 496 pages.

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California Desert Plants

• Over 400 color photographs of plants and landscapes
• Descriptions and photos of dominant plant species
• Overview of plant adaptations to desert environments
• Discussion of major desert habitats

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Select Publications:

• Kauffmann, Michael E., T. Parker, M.l Vasey, J. Bisbee. 2021. Field Guide to Manzanitas, Second Edition. Backcountry Press. Kneeland, California.
• California Native Plant Society Vegetation Program (M. Kauffmann, K.G. Sikes, J. Buck-Diaz, J. Jackson, R. Floreani-Buzbee, and J. Evens). 2019 (revised 2021). Conservation Assessment for Pinus albicaulis (Whitebark Pine) for National Forest Lands in California, with Management Considerations. 131 pages.
• Kauffmann, M., J. Ratchford, J. Evens, K. Lindke, J. Barnes. 2017. Angeles National Forest: Bigcone Douglas-fir Mapping and Monitoring Report. Unpublished report. California Native Plant Society Vegetation Program, Sacramento, CA.
• Kauffmann, Michael E., T. Parker, M.l Vasey, J. Bisbee. 2015. Field Guide to Manzanitas. Backcountry Press. Kneeland, California.
• Kauffmann, M.E., S. Taylor, K. Sikes, and J. Evens. 2014 (updated 2018). Klamath, Shasta-Trinity, Lassen and Modoc National Forest: Whitebark Pine Pilot Fieldwork Reports. Unpublished reports. California Native Plant Society Vegetation Program, Sacramento, CA.
• Taylor, S., K. Sikes, M. Kauffmann and J. Evens. 2014 (updated 2018). Eldorado, Sequoia, and Stanislaus National Forest: Whitebark Pine Pilot Fieldwork Reports. Unpublished reports. California Native Plant Society Vegetation Program, Sacramento, CA.
• Kauffmann, M. 2014. Whitebark Pine Forest Health in California: a guide to common pathogens. Unpublished report. California Native Plant Society Vegetation Program, Sacramento, CA.
• Kauffmann, Michael. 2013. Conifers of the Pacific Slope. Backcountry Press. Kneeland, California.
• Kauffmann, Michael. 2012. Conifer Country. Backcountry Press. Kneeland, California.
• Adams, R. P. R. Lanner, M. Kauffmann and D. Thornburg. 2011.  “Taxonomy of infraspecific taxa of Abies concolor: Leaf essential oils of Abies concolor, var. concolor and var. lowiana”  Phytologia 93(2): 208-220. (PDF)
• Adams, R. P., R. Lanner, M. Kauffmann and D. Thornburg. 2011. ” Taxonomy of infraspecific taxa of Abies concolor based on DNA sequences from nrDNA and four chloroplast regions.” Phytologia 93(2): 221-230. (PDF)
• Adams, R. P. and M. E. Kaufmann. 2010.” Geographic variation in the leaf essential oils of Juniperus grandis and comparison with J. occidentalis and J. osteosperma.” Phytologia 92(2):167-185. (PDF)
• Adams, R. P. and M. E. Kauffmann. 2010. “Geographic variation in nrDNA and cp DNA of Juniperus californica, J. grandis, J. occidentalis and J. osteosperma (Cupressaceae).” Phytologia 92(2):266-276. (PDF)

• Book Talks
  • Conifer Country: A natural history and hiking guide to 35 conifer taxa in the Klamath Mtns.
  • Conifers of the Pacific Slope: A field guide to the conifers of California, Oregon, and Washington
  • Field Guide to Manzanitas: A story of the California Floristic Province
• Klamath Mountain Biodiversity (conifer emphasis)
  • The Miracle Mile
•  Conifers
  • Conifers of the Klamath Mountains
  • Biogeography (emphasis on Pinus)
  • Evolution
  • Conifers of the San Gabriel Mountains
  • Whitebark Pine
  • Bigcone Douglas-fir
• Forest Pathogens of the Klamath Region
• Citizen Science: an exploration of our relationship to natural history
  • K-12 Classroom Applications
  • Citizen Science
• Wilderness Areas of the Klamath Mountains
• The Bigfoot Trail: A Botanical Wonderland