Tsuga heterophylla Archives - Michael Kauffmann

May 24, 2025May 24, 2025

Revisiting a Research Natural Area in the Klamath Mountains

There’s a quiet magnetism in Research Natural Areas (RNAs)—pockets of protected wild that call to those of us who seek to understand the living mosaic of California. These places are often the last intact natural systems on our public lands—and for decades, I’ve been drawn to them, trekking into these living sanctuaries to witness nature in its most undisturbed form, to document its story, and to carry that story forward.

June 9, 2019March 22, 2020

Redwood Experimental Forest

Exploring the Yurok RNA

Many years back I discovered that there were little known biodiversity hotspots that had been described by a handful of ecologists. These places had been designated as Research Natural Areas for the primary purposes of maintaining biological diversity, providing baseline ecological information, and encouraging research and university natural-history education. These places are all relatively pristine and sometimes close to roads in non-wilderness areas.

It was in this way that I first learned about the Redwood Experimental Forest that also contains the Yurok RNA. But I had never visited this place despite the fact it has been on my list since the early 2000s. That all changed in June 2019.

This team is embarking on a three year study of conifer resistance to drought. Our study will involve at least six species, both common and uncommon, across the Klamath Mountain region.