Oaks in Peril; Wildfire, Drought, and Mapping Trees

Event Information: 
Richard Rachman will be discussing with South Coast CNPS oak conservation research in the Santa Monica Mountains utilizing high-resolution remote sensing.

Speaker Bio: 
Richard Rachman (pronouns He/Him/His) is the Biodiversity Coordinator for the Institute for Sustainability and a graduate student in the Biology Department. His Master's thesis is studying the role wildfires and bark beetles play on the spatial distribution and die-off of coast live oaks and valley oaks in the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles County. Richard received his AA from Moorpark College in Natural Sciences and went on to transfer to CSUN to earn his BS in Ecology and Evolution and minor in GIS. During his time as an undergraduate at CSUN, Richard was involved in research projects studying stress response in big-eared woodrats, growth ring analysis of basin big sagebrush in Owens Valley, scorpion diversity in the southwest deserts, coyote scat analysis, harvestmen morphospecies microhabitat analysis, and testing neotropical rodent capture methods.

He has worked as a biological field technician alongside the United States Geological Survey, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management for the Great Basin Bird Observatory, Mountains Restoration Trust, and NatureServe, respectively. Richard’s hobbies include hiking, watching movies with his boyfriend, and fighting for queer and environmental rights.

Zoom Information: 

https://cnps-org.zoom.us/j/92487485027?pwd=dnZtaUNrSktPbVQxRW5wTWVFSHNJQT09
Or use the meeting ID and password below at https://zoom.us/
Meeting ID: 924 8748 5027
Passcode: 955573