UC Oaks

Since its creation in 1995, the University of California Oak Woodland Management website has been a valuable educational resource. Based on Google Analytics data from 2011 to 2017, the website received an average of 45,000 users annually. The website is a repository of 25 years of research and outreach data on the ecology, management, and conservation of California’s 8 million acres of oak woodlands. Recent staff retirements and changes in website standards created a need for an update and redesign. To accomplish this, Cooperative Extension received a Renewable Resources Extension Act Capacity Grant that allowed us to make the website more visually appealing and functional; add some of the latest research publications; and promote the website to groups who have not historically used it, in particular, the ranching community.To increase user friendliness, we developed links at the top of the home page for the three primary target audiences: homeowners, land-use planners, and ranchers. On the home page, we also highlighted the topics that receive the most hits: Species ID, Oak Regeneration, Oak Values, Threats to Sustainability, and Wildlife Ecology. The new website, now called UC Oaks, went live in September, 2019. With its new look and expanded reach, we hope that the website will be a one-stop-shop for everything people need to know about oak woodland conservation and management. Check it out: https://oaks.cnr.berkeley.edu