Doug McConnell and I find fern research amusing at Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

This weekend, sword ferns among the redwoods got their 15 minutes of fame as OpenRoad with Doug McConnell and the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported on how drought is impacting their vigor. My long-term research project Fern Watch has helped us realize that sword fern populations are dynamic and tell us a lot about recent weather patterns in the redwood forest. While the ferns are clearly self-pruning in response to the drought, I’m optimistic that they’re a hardy species and will weather the dry times.

Check out our OpenRoad episode here and Santa Cruz Sentinel story here!