Point Reyes National Seashore Association
1 Bear Valley Visitor Center Access Road
Jan 31 from 9am to 3pm PST
How has this unique 5,000 acre fire reshaped the landscape, and what we can it teach us about coastal fires going forward?
Hike 6 miles through one of Point Reyes’ most dynamic landscapes—where fire, forest, fog and renewal intertwine. Once known as the “Slow Burn,” the 5,000-acre Woodward Fire of 2020 transformed Mt. Wittenberg, burning with mostly low intensity across 67% of its range. Remarkably, considering that the same lightning storm sparked catastrophic damage in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Woodward Fire was a gentler rejuvenating burn —a story of resilience written in flame.
Part of the Woodward Fire also re-burned areas last touched by the intense 1995 Vision Fire, making this a rare ecological case study: two burns within just twenty-five years.
Five years later, the mountain tells a tale of recovery. On this 6-mile guided hike, we’ll explore how Douglas fir forests, coastal scrub, and Ceanothus shrublands are responding to fire and renewal. Along the way, we’ll observe fire-adapted plants, discuss wildfire behavior, and immerse ourselves in a living landscape that’s writing its next chapter.
Tanya Baxter, M.S. is a botanist, ecologist and educator. Tanya conducts rare plant surveys post wildfires in remote rugged areas on the Sierra Nevada and teaches at the Sierra Nevada Field Campus through San Francisco State University each summer. In Marin, Tanya led landscape scale habitat restoration projects for Golden Gate National Recreation Area for 8 years. Tanya is leading a multi year study on plant community change following the Woodward Fire in Point Reyes National Seashore. She currently leads innovative collaborations with Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority and Land Trust partners as a consultant.