Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest

Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest is in southern Lake County, seven miles northwest of Middletown and eight miles south of Clear Lake. CAL FIRE acquired this forest from a private landowner in 1949. At that time, most of the merchantable timber on the Forest had already been harvested. It lies approximately 50 miles inland from the Pacific shoreline and 75 air miles north of San Francisco. The Forest consists of gently rolling terrain bordered by two mountain peaks, one at the north end and one at the south end. Geologically, Boggs Mountain is complex, with various types of volcanic rock exposed over much of its nearly 3,500 acres.

In September of 2015, the Valley Fire burned through 99% of the property killing roughly 80% of the mature trees and 95% of the understory regeneration. Reforestation efforts have consisted of forest-wide salvage logging operations to recover the value of the damaged timber. Though most of the trees were killed in the fire, the structural integrity of the wood remained, and the trees were cut and hauled to local sawmills to produce wood products. As part of the reforestation plan, 702,695 tree seedlings were planted across approximately 3,100 acres of the property. The planted species included Ponderosa Pine, Douglas Fir, Sugar Pine, Incense Cedar, and Giant Sequoia.

Vegetation at the lower elevations consists of chaparral with manzanita being most predominant. Upper elevations host a mixed conifer forest of mostly coast range Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and sugar pine. Hardwood species include canyon live oak, black oak, dogwood, and madrone.

Hunting is permitted under applicable State game laws and regulations. Pets are welcome but must be leashed and controlled.



Forest Stats:
Established: 1949
Area: 3,493 acres
Elevation: 2,400 - 3,750ft
Precipitation: 71in per year 
Temperature: Max: 100 F - Min: 13 F

Demonstration

BMDSF is managed as a working forest which facilitates research and demonstrates diverse timber management practices to private timberland owners and the public at large. Current emphasis will be on restocking the Forest so that it may be utilized for these purposes again. The long-term objective will be to establish a dynamic mosaic of diverse forest structures and a high productive capacity. This management approach will produce a sustainable harvest of high quality timber products, support biological diversity, and ensure opportunities for future forestry research

Research

Numerous research projects are underway at BMDSF. Two of the large scale research projects undertaken on BMDSF after the Valley fire are Monitoring Impacts of Fire on Watersheds at Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest and Fire Effects, Carbon, and Forest Regeneration. These studies are designed to gather data on the impacts of post-fire recovery strategies. These projects are monitoring the effects of post fire salvage logging and site preparation on post fire recovery.

Boggs Mountain Research Video 

Recreation

While the primary management objective at BMDSF is research and demonstration, recreation is identified in the Management Plan as a secondary use. As such recreational opportunities exist such as hiking, biking, and equestrian use along the recently reconstructed trail alignments. Hunting in season game is permitted on BMDSF however target shooting is prohibited. BMDSF also manages 4 seasonal campgrounds: Calso Camp, Ridge Camp, Group Camp and Horse Camp.

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