Giant Sequoia Grove Health & Resilience Assessment 2026

Cherry Gap Grove

Cherry Gap Grove

Overview

Health & Resilience Summary

moderate

3.1

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

Wildfire Vulnerability

Moderate - 3.1

Regen Vulnerability

Low - 0.1

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

medium

3.1

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

Overall Vulnerability

Moderate - 3.1

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)64
LocationUpper King Watershed, Fresno County
Management Unit(s)Giant Sequoia National Monument / Sequoia National Forest
Land Steward(s)USFS SQF GSNM

About Cherry Gap Grove

Cherry Gap Grove is a 64-acre grove in the Kings River Watershed region situated between 5,637 - 6,695 feet elevation at 36.77332°N. It is located in the headwaters basin of Goodmill Creek, tributary to Mill Flat Creek, within the Kings River watershed. The grove is managed by Giant Sequoia National Monument/Sequoia National Forest. There is a history of heavy logging in Cherry Gap and as a result there are no old growth giant sequoias left - only second growth.

Cherry Gap Grove

Health & Resilience

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

Additionally, Cherry Gap 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 Unknown. 100% of Cherry Gap Grove has burned in large fires since 1984. See below for more detailed information.

moderate

3.1

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 Cherry Gap Grove's Health & Resilience. These data, their inputs, and any available notes and updates may be found in the Grove Resilience Datasheet.

Beetle Activity
unknown

Beetle Activity in Cherry Gap Grove has not been determined.

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 Cherry Gap 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
WildfiresROUGH - 2015
% of grove burned 100%
% of grove unburned 0%
Fire Return Interval Departure High

The chart below provides the percentages of the grove burned at different levels of severity for each wildfire since 1984.

0 - Unburned
1 - Low to Moderate Severity (<640RdNBR)
2 - High Severity (640-800RdNBR)
3 - Very High Severity (>800RdNBR)

Cherry Gap Grove

Management Considerations

Cherry Gap Grove is ranked Medium for Relative Management Priority because it has Moderate Relative Overall Vulnerability and Good feasibility for implementing management actions toward restoration goals.

Additionally, the grove is 2.3 miles from a community and is 1.6 miles from recreational infrastructure. See below for more detailed information.

medium

3.1

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

Moderate - 3.1

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 Cherry Gap 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 Treatments37.9%63.7
Prescribed Fire0%0
Pile Treatments0%0
Pile Burns0.5%0.8
Replanting26.5%44.7

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/Restoration0%0
Reforestation1%0.64

Cherry Gap Grove

Photos

1999
prefire
Patch of secondary-growth sequoias in the Cherry Gap Grove prior to the 2015 Rough Fire
Patch of secondary-growth sequoias in the Cherry Gap Grove prior to the 2015 Rough Fire

Cherry Gap 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.