Your best source of accurate information about California's most extensive ecosystem...
The Chaparral
Welcome Fellow Natural History Enthusiasts, Research Scientists, and Wildland Firefighters
Of all the distinct, natural communities in California, only one is found throughout and only one can be said to represent the state's most characteristic wilderness: chaparral, a special plant community characterized by drought-hardy, woody shrubs, shaped by a Mediterranean-type climate (summer drought, winter rain) and intense, infrequent wildfires. It is within the chaparral where California will find its best and perhaps last chance to reclaim its wildness and preserve the quality of life made possible by the region's natural, open spaces.
This site is being updated frequently, so please return from time to time. Last update: January 14, 2012.
The Purpose of The Institute is...
To promote an understanding and respect for the chaparral and Mediterranean-type climate in which it thrives in order to: *Support the creative spirit as inspired by the natural environment.
* Increase the conservation, protection, and preservation of shrubland ecosystems.
* Encourage an active interest in learning about the chaparral, the organisms living there, its evolutionary development, and the fragile relationship it has with fire.
* Help clarify fire and land management regulations to eliminate bias against native shrubland plant communities.
* Foster a reconnection to the natural environment. * Permanently secure the value of protecting chaparral as an important natural resource for the benefit of current and future generations.
Red Shanks Chaparral
The California Chaparral Institute...
is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation of naturalists, scientists, wildland firefighters, and educators who value the chaparral as both a valuable resource and a place to enjoy the wilderness.
Every dime we obtain through speaking engagements, consulting work, and membership donations help us defray costs for publications, transportation, research and education. Without financial attachments to any formal institutions or economic interests we can afford to be the voice of the chaparral without concern over future funding. What we do is not about money, but about making a difference.
So please consider joining the California Chaparral Institute to help support our mission by becoming a member at one of the following three levels:
1. Citizen Naturalist 2. Chaparralian 3. California Grizzly Bear
The Chaparralian is the Institute's official publication.
Please visit The Chaparralian page on our website to view samples of the journal's contents.
To receive periodic updates and news concerning the California Chaparral Institute, please join our mailing list by using the form to the right.
For interesting thoughts and photos concerning the chaparral and the importance of nature you can also...
A Personal Message About Soccer and Nature
After controlling the ball 90% of the time, shutting out the opposition three games in a row, and riding high on friendship born from struggle and cooperation, our 10-year-old son's soccer All-Star team was forced into a penalty kick show-down due to a 1:1 tie. As each player squared off, the tie continued until the last, with goalie kicking against goalie. We lost. It was such lousy way to lose, especially since our team had played so well together. Such a one-on-one showdown just doesn't seem right.
You may be wondering what this has to do with chaparral; well, quite a bit actually. You see Sunday, the day we would have been playing in the final game had we won, our family of four spent the afternoon hiking up a mountain covered with magnificent, old-growth chaparral near our home. At one point the vegetation was so high and dense that our path had to weave its way through a narrow tunnel of ceanothus, the canopy of which arched more than three feet over my head. I'm six feet six inches tall. More than a century ago, such a place would have been a utilized by the California grizzly bear to travel from one side of the mountain to the other.
My son knew the plants along the way and proudly announced their names. They were friends to him. They were friends to all of us. On the way back down, we heard the bouncing whistle of the wrentit, a chaparral voice that made our hearts sing. Our son pointed that out too. It was one of the best adventures we've had as a family. You see, nature has a way of refocusing energies, helping to put things back into perspective. It allows us to realize (once again) what is really important in life.
Yeah, we lost a little dream on the soccer field and still felt horrible about it, but somehow it was O.K. after our chaparral adventure Sunday. Nature brought us back. And it wasn't just because we took a walk, but because we took a walk with friends from the wild. We felt at home. The characters and things around us were familiar because we knew their names and their life histories. They had meaning for us.
Beyond its value as a natural resource and watershed, chaparral is valuable as a place of connection, beauty, and peace in a very busy and sometimes confusing world. This is why I am so passionate about helping others learn to appreciate the chaparral or whatever natural environment is near their home. It helps make life so much more enjoyable and helps people smile, something we need a lot more of these days, especially after a not-so-good day on the soccer field.
Richard W. Halsey President California Chaparral Institute
Richard W. Halsey Founder/President
Richard Halsey has given more than 300 presentations and written numerous papers and articles over the past seven years concerning chaparral ecology, how communities can adapt to fire-prone environments, and the importance of nature education. Richard also works with the San Diego Museum of Natural History and continues to teach natural history throughout the state. The second edition of his book, Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California, was awarded the 2008 Best Nonfiction-Local Interest Book by the San Diego Book Awards Association. He was also trained as a Type II wildland firefighter past the age most would consider reasonable in order to better understand fire.
Richard earned undergraduate degrees from the University of California in environmental studies and anthropology. During graduate work he received teaching credentials in life, physical and social science and a Master's in education. Richard taught biology for over thirty years in both public and private schools and was honored as Teacher of the Year for San Diego City Schools in 1991. Continuing his work in education, Richard provides living history performances focusing on California in the 1800's and is a life-long student of the Chumash Indian culture. He has recently produced the movie, Rites of Passage, a thriller starring Wes Bentley, Ryan Donowho, Kate Maberly, Travis Van Winkle, and Christian Slater. The film's expected release is Winter, 2012.
NPR's Living Earth. May 2, 2008. When you go into a national forest, you expect to see trees, but in southern California the forests are covered with shrubby plants known as chaparral. Living on Earth's Ingrid Lobet visits San Bernardino National Forest and talks with scientists who are trying to protect the dry vegetation. Listen to the audio.
Halsey, R.W. 2009. Chaparral as a natural resource: changing the conversation about chaparral and fire. In Proceedings, California Native Plant Society Conservation Conference, Sacramento, CA (In Press).
Halsey, R.W. 2004. In search of allelopathy: an eco-historical view of the investigation of chemical inhibition in California coastal sage scrub and chamise chaparral. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 131: 343-367. Send us an email to request a copy.
One of the best kept secrets of the chaparral is its remarkable wildflowers. Pictured here is a Humboldt's Lily (Lilium humboldtii) found at the base of Viejas Mountain, San Diego County. A walk through the chaparral between January and May offers a nearby, peaceful alternative to visiting other, more distant wildflower display locations.
