Giant Sequoia Grove Health & Resilience Assessment 2026

Ladybug Grove

Ladybug Grove

Overview

Health & Resilience Summary

low

0.5

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

Wildfire Vulnerability

Low - 0.5

Regen Vulnerability

Low - 0.0

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

low

0.5

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

Overall Vulnerability

Low - 0.5

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)2.2
LocationUpper Kaweah Watershed, Tulare County
Management Unit(s)Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area
Land Steward(s)Private, DOI BLM

About Ladybug Grove

Ladybug Grove is very small and only occupies two acres. The grove is managed by Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area and is part of the Case Mountain Complex - the only sequoia groves managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It is in the Kaweah River Watershed region situated between 5,632 - 5,860 feet elevation at 36.40375°N. It is located six miles east of the town of Three Rivers, CA, in the headwaters of Salt Creek and other tributaries to the East Fork of the Kaweah River. Ladybug Grove is not remote but it can only be accessed via a primitive 11-mile dirt road that climbs about 5,000 ft. Accessing and using the road is dependent upon weather conditions; the road can get washed out and clay components in the soil can make it very difficult to drive on after inclement weather. Vehicle access is currently limited to BLM personnel and private landowners. The general public can access the grove by foot, equestrian and mountain bike travel only. Portions of Ladybug Grove were logged in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

Ladybug Grove

Health & Resilience

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

Additionally, Ladybug Grove is at Moderate 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 None Observed. 100% of Ladybug Grove has burned in large fires since 1984. See below for more detailed information.

low

0.5

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

Beetle Activity
none observed

Beetle Activity in Ladybug Grove has not been observed by grove managers.

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 Ladybug 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
WildfiresCASE - 1987, COFFEE POT - 2024
% of grove burned 100%
% of grove unburned 0%
Fire Return Interval Departure Moderate

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)

Ladybug Grove

Management Considerations

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

Additionally, the grove is 2.9 miles from a community and is 3.8 miles from recreational infrastructure. There are historic skid trails that could be used to implement management activities. Restoration treatments are sometimes infeasible due to steepness in the grove, but feasibility is determined on a case-by-case basis. There is a presence of pre-settlement and historic archeological sites. See below for more detailed information.

low

0.5

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

Low - 0.5

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 Ladybug 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 Treatments7%1.5
Prescribed Fire100%21.1
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/Restoration0%0
Reforestation0%0

Ladybug Grove

Photos

prefire
LadybugGrove Prefire.V1
prefire
LadyBugGrove Prefire.V2

Ladybug 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.