Giant Sequoia Grove Health & Resilience Assessment 2026

Calaveras So Grove

Calaveras So Grove

Overview

Health & Resilience Summary

high

5.4

This grove is ranked High for Relative Overall Vulnerability due to:

Wildfire Vulnerability

High - 5.4

Regen Vulnerability

Low - 0.5

See the Grove Health & Resilience section below for more information.

high

5.4

This grove is ranked High for Relative Management Priority due to:

Overall Vulnerability

High - 5.4

Treatment Feasibility

Good - 10.0

See the Management Considerations section below for more information.

Grove Map

Grove map

Grove Map - click map for more detailed spatial information

Grove Information

PropertyValue
Grove Size (Acres)365
LocationUpper Stanislaus Watershed, Tuolumne County
Management Unit(s)Calaveras Big Trees State Park
Land Steward(s)CA Parks

About Calaveras So Grove

Calaveras South Grove is a 365-acre grove in the Central Sierra Watershed region, situated between 4,572 - 5,345 feet elevation at 38.24854 °N. It is managed by Calaveras Big Trees State Park. The grove is located in the drainage of Big Trees Creek, North Fork of the Stanislaus River watershed. It is considered an old growth forest and the mature sequoias have never been logged. Thus, it is home to several exceptional giant sequoia trees, including the Agassiz Tree - the largest in both the North and South Calaveras groves.

Calaveras So Grove

Health & Resilience

Calaveras So Grove is ranked High for Relative Overall Vulnerability because it is at a High risk of being negatively impacted by the effects of severe wildfire and at Low risk for inadequate natural regeneration.

Additionally, Calaveras So Grove is at Low risk for negative impacts from drought stress, Low levels of tree mortality have been detected in the grove, and the presence and activity of beetles in the grove is Confirmed. 0% of Calaveras So Grove has burned in large fires since 1984. See below for more detailed information.

high

5.4

Relative Overall Vulnerability
Components of Relative Overall Vulnerability

Relative Overall Vulnerability is based on Wildfire Vulnerability and Regeneration Vulnerability using an area-weighted calculation. See Grove Assessment Analysis Methods for more details.

The pie charts below provide the percentage of the grove with high, medium, and low vulnerabilities. Click on the charts to view interactive maps of these vulnerabilities within the grove.

Additional Grove Health & Resilience Information

Below is additional information about Calaveras So Grove's Health & Resilience. These data, their inputs, and any available notes and updates may be found in the Grove Resilience Datasheet.

Beetle Activity
confirmed

Beetle Activity in Calaveras So Grove has been confirmed by a survey.

Please see the Grove Resilience Datasheet for details.

Drought-related Tree Mortality (all species)
low

The drought- and insect-related mortality of all tree species combined in Calaveras So Grove is estimated as Low according to USFS dead canopy surveys from 2017-2021. Please see Grove Assessment Analysis Methods for details.

Wildfire History

The table below provides information about large wildfires in this grove recorded since 1984. See this map of wildfires and locations of high severity fire.

MetricValue
% of grove burned 0%
% of grove unburned 100%
Fire Return Interval Departure High

Calaveras So Grove

Management Considerations

Calaveras So Grove is ranked High for Relative Management Priority because it has High Relative Overall Vulnerability and Good feasibility for implementing management actions toward restoration goals.

Additionally, the grove is 2.2 miles from a community and is 0.4 miles from recreational infrastructure. CA State Parks prefers to encourage natural regeneration. See below for more detailed information.

high

5.4

Relative Management Priority
Components of Relative Management Priority

Relative Management Priority is determined by combining the Relative Overall Vulnerability and Treatment Feasibility ranks. See Grove Assessment Analysis Methods for more details.

Relative Overall Vulnerability

High - 5.4

See the Health & Resilience section above for the component metrics for the Relative Overall Vulnerability rank.

Treatment Feasibility

good - 10.0

FactorValue
Special Land DesignationNone
Grove Manager OpinionFuel Treatments are Possible
RemoteNo
Additional Management Considerations

Below is additional information relevant to Calaveras So Grove's Management Considerations. These data, their inputs, and any available notes and updates may be found in the Grove Resilience Datasheet.

Treatment History

The table below lists treatment projects in and 90 meters around this grove implemented since 2022. See this map of grove treatments.

Treatment Type % of GroveAcres
Mechanical Treatments3.2%21.4
Prescribed Fire86.7%571.1
Pile Treatments0%0
Pile Burns0%0
Replanting0%0

Management Recommendations

The table below provides an estimate of the percentage and acreage of the grove that are recommended for evaluation for treatment based on the Vulnerability Models. See this map of Grove Vulnerability Models.

Treatment Need % of GroveAcres
Fuels Reduction/Restoration9.6%35.04
Reforestation0%0

Calaveras So Grove

References

Find more giant sequoia science by searching the GSLC Scientific Publications Library.

Explore more groves or learn about the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition.

Disclaimer

The information presented in the Giant Sequoia Grove Health & Resilience Assessment is intended to supplement on-the-ground knowledge of giant sequoia groves for use in conjunction with current on-the-ground knowledge of grove condition and management activities when planning fuel treatment and reforestation projects. It should not be considered the only source of information about the condition of groves.