Sonoma-area wildflower preserve to hold prescribed burn to reduce ‘medusahead'

Coming off a lower-than-normal rainfall season, the possibility of drought is beginning to raise concerns about fire safety in the coming months. But the necessary work of prescribed burns for certain high-risk areas must continue, says restoration and fire ecologist Jason Mills of the Sonoma Ecology Center (SEC.)

That would explain why sometime this month - latest estimate is Friday, May 22 - smoke will rise from the Van Hoosear Wildflower Preserve off Grove Street, west of Arnold Drive in Sonoma. Mills said the preserve is beset with 'medusahead,' a nonnative winter grass that creates a thick layer of flammable thatch which smothers native wildflowers.

'Cattle avoid eating its prickly seed head, so despite careful summer grazing at the Preserve, medusahead continues to expand,' Mills said.

About 35 acres of grassland at the 162-acre Preserve are targeted for the burn, which will be conducted in cooperation with prescribed-fire professionals, state and local fire agencies, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

The exact date of the one-day burn depends on which day meets the strict conditions of the burn permit, including temperature, wind and humidity, but the SEC advised area residents and others not to be alarmed by the fire when it occurs.

Caitlin Cornwall of the SEC said Van Hoosear's neighbors have already been notified by mail, and other steps are being taken to make sure no one is surprised when the prescribed burn takes place.

Prescribed burns in 2017 at Bouverie Preserve near Glen Ellen, and in 2016 and 2017 at Pepperwood Preserve northeast of Santa Rosa, successfully reduced medusahead and reduced burn intensity during the Nuns Fire. The planned burn at Van Hoosear has the same objectives.

The area is notable for its annual wildflower bloom, and the SEC often conducts wildflower walking tours at the private property, protected by a conservation easement since 2004. It is owned by Sonoma Valley resident Marilyn Goode and family, including the director of the Netflix miniseries 'Tiger King,' wildlife activist Eric Goode who, in a recent interview with the Index-Tribune, spoke fondly of his explorations on the then-wild property when he was young.

Email Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.