Pinecone Cowboy | Stew McMorrow | E87
Since 2016, more than two million acres of Northern California have been torched by devastating wildfires, leaving vast tracts of previously forested land nothing but black matchsticks. As the landscape recovers, efforts are being made to ensure forests regenerate so massive brush fields don’t take the place of trees. As staff chief for CalFire’s Wildfire Resilience Program, Stew McMorrow has more than 30 years experience climbing trees, falling trees, planting trees, funding agencies in reforestation, as well as working as a Registered Professional Forester (RPF). McMorrow is also an avid outdoorsman and mountain biker, and understands the value of balancing recreation with forestry, serving on the executive board of the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. In Episode 87, we join McMorrow planting seedlings on Mount Hough near Quincy, California, heavily impacted by the Dixie Fire, then chat with him about forestry, pinecones, growing trees, reforestation and how recreation plays a role in all of it. We also talk with Michael Hall of Feather River Resource Conservation District and fellow RPF, Jason Moghaddas, about the recent controversial news around glyphosate – aka Round Up – being sprayed on public lands.
The Cosbey Chronicles Part III | E73
In the third installment of the Cosbey Chronicles, the boys sit down with Coz at his caretaker’s quarters on the shore of Gold Lake and dive deep into trails. Raised as a Mormon, by age 12, Coz knew organized religion wasn’t for him. At that same age, he rode a Honda Trail 90 motorcycle for the first time, and it was the beginning of the rest of his life. His religion became exploration on two wheels in the outdoors. Coz talks about the three years he spent laying out and building Mills Peak trail in Graeagle, as well as working on all the trails in Lakes Basin for the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, an organization he co-founded. Coz talks about the future of recreation in rural mountain communities and encourages listeners to escape the negativity of life, losing their minds in the track, being present in the moment. He also encourages those with financial means to contribute their wealth to trails and trail projects, benefiting the public in an age where connection to place is being lost to invasive technology.