REEDLEY COLLEGE SCHOOL FOREST

SEQUOIA LAKE

Historical Background
The property was first occupied in 1888 by Smith and Moore. They purchased thousands of acres of Sierra mixed conifer timberland and formed the "Kings River Lumber Company" (Johnson 1970). Soon after, in 1889, the logging of Sierra Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) began. At the same time, Mill Flats Meadow was dammed and Sequoia Lake was created to supply water to the mill and flume at Millwood Flats.

For a few more years the "Sequoia Lake" was a well known summer resort development (Johnson 1966). In 1905, the Kings River Lumber Company went bankrupt, and the property was sold to the Hume-Bennett Lumber Company. During the period the whole property was completely logged for Sierra Redwood. Early photos illustrate that the area in and around Sequoia Lake was a stump field.

Thomas Hume took over the total operation of the Hume-Bennett Lumber Company and ran it until his death, at which time his son, George, ran the operations until 1917 when the mill at Hume Lake burned down. In 1922, George Hume offered the property, including the present day Sequoia Lake, for sale. A group of men from Kings, Tulare, and Fresno counties representing the YMCA purchased 628.5 acres for $30,000 in 1922.Later on two more parcels of 10 and 12 acres were purchased at $1,000 each to bring the present total to 648.5 acres. A new, more accurate survey in 1981 shows a total of 658 acres.

Between 1922 and 1970, the property was used exclusively by the Sequoia Lake YMCA. In 1970, Reedley College began to use the property as a school laboratory area on an intermittent basis. During the fall of 1976, the college began a continuous use of both day and overnight field trips. For awhile overnight field trips were four days in length, with two trips each semester.  In 1980, an agreement (formal contract) was consummated between Sequoia Lake Conference of YMCA and Kings River Community College Forestry programs. This document spelled out the conditions that the college and YMCA would operate under to provide development and implementation of good forest land management practices. We have been operating under that contract ever since.

Natural Features
Sequoia Lake is located of Fresno County on the Tulare County border. The lake, which is located in the approximate center of the property, is 88 acres when full. The lake shore grades upward gently for a ways to very steep slopes, some over 17%.  The lowest elevation on the property is 4,950 feet and the highest is 5,990 feet. The average elevation of the property is 5,520 feet. The lake shore is 5,340 feet.  The following is a breakdown of the acreage encompassed by the property boundaries:

Natural Resources
Timbered: As stated earlier, over 440 acres of the property are timbered. Much of the acreage is capable of growing substantial timber crops, and has done so in the past (Johnson 1966).  Soils and mensuration data thus far gathered indicates that the forested acres for the most part are of high site quality. A considerable part of the forested areas are Site I-A or 1-11. Adjacent to the property on the east side are excellent examples of virgin, old growth Sierra mixed conifer stands. That mixture is composed of: Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana), Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa), Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffryii), Incense-Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), White Fir (Abies concolor), Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), and California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggi).

The lake property contains some of the best examples of Sierra mixed conifer stands in our general area. Presently, the property is in a well stocked condition with areas ranging from 160 square feet/acre on thinned stands to 355-400 square feet/acre on untouched stands.  In 1981, the college and YMCA Board of Directors undertook the development of a timber sale which encompassed about 218 acres on the north and east sides of the property. At that time, approximately 1. 8 m board feet of mixed conifer saw logs were harvested. In 1983, an additional 26 acres were harvested on the southeast side of the school forest with a removal of about 750 m board feet. A sale took place in the fall of1994 which will encompass 132 acres and removal of about a half million board feet of mixed conifers.  

Many acres required either pre-commercial and/or commercial thinning in order to maintain a healthy, vigorous growing stand. To date, 127 acres have been thinned from an original stand of 900 - 1,200 trees/acre to approximately 350 trees/acres. There is still 15 to 20 acres of pre-commercial thinning remaining to be accomplished.

Partly as a result of natural decline, but most because of past logging practices, large blocks of the property are classed as an extreme risk to wildfire. The US Forest Service standards, according to Dell (1976) and Martin Brabebush (1974), for acceptable limits of tons of available fuel per acre in the range of 10-30. From preliminary data gathered at Sequoia Lake, many acres contain between 80 to 150 tons available fuel per acre. In short, there is a very high risk of a disastrous wildfire on the property. Since 1981, fuel reductions throughout the property have been continually reduced. Presently, we still have some acreage in the extreme category, but most of the forested areas are now in the moderate to high tons/acre (30-50 tons/acre).

Go To:  Map of Sequoia Lake Property