Woodland Hilltop
Perched above Murphys in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Woodland Hilltop is a 22-acre experimental landscape where DeepForest prototypes and refines climate-adaptive land management strategies. This dynamic site hosts a range of projects—from ecological thinning to remote sensing and native species restoration—all designed to enhance wildfire resilience, carbon storage, and biodiversity. Woodland Hilltop serves as both a working landscape and a field classroom, advancing our mission through hands-on research, collaboration, and innovation on the ground.
Site Overview
This hilltop was once a healthy oak and pine woodland which was clear-cut during the Gold Rush era and then left to grow without much management for over a century. The result was an unstable, fire-prone mix of vegetation dominated by fast-growing, impenetrable tangles of small trees rather than a healthy, fire-resistant woodland landscape. We are actively restoring the site toward a healthy mix of larger oak and pine trees with a balanced understory following mastication and mulching of overgrown small trees which posed imminent wildfire risks to the surrounding neighborhood.
This is an especially interesting site because it sits at the intersection of oak woodlands and more coniferous forest lands. As a hilltop with multiple aspects, it offers a variety of sun exposures and some seasonal water flow areas. Different areas within this 22-acre site provide striking contrasts in vegetation mix and species success due to variations in sun exposure, heat, and access to water.
Look at the Land
Here is an elevation map including vegetation of the Woodland Hilltop Arbory. This map was developed using an aerial drone and map inference software as part of our technology + forest management prototyping efforts .
History
See attached for some history of the ownership of the site and mining operations which happened here during the gold rush era. More history information soon!
