How is California Saving its Forests?
Can California Forests Be Saved?
April 20, 2022 – KQED, the public TV station in Northern California, produced this excellent video called, appropriately enough, Reforestation. The 9:00 minute long video explains the scientific process that geneticists are using to replant our state’s burnt forests. You’ll see the climbers who collect conifer cones in dizzying footage that shows the lofty efforts that are being made to rejuvenate California’s forests by authorities like CAL FIRE and U.S. Forest Service.
RESOURCES
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EXPAND AGREEMENTS
The USFS will seek to expand its use of Good Neighbor Authority and Shared Stewardship Agreements and other mechanisms to partner with state, local and tribal governments to accomplish fuels reduction projects on federal land more efficiently.
Lead Agency
USFS
Assigned Work Group(s)
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1.2
INCREASE SUSTAINABLE TIMBER HARVEST PROGRAMS
The USFS will seek to increase its annual timber harvest from 400 million board feet (MBF) to 500 MBF annually, accounting for a third of the current industry capacity of 1.5 billion board feet annually.
Lead Agency
USFS
Assigned Work Group(s)
1-1
1.1
Treat 500,000 Acres of USFS Land Annually by 2025
Consistent with the Shared Stewardship Agreement, the USFS intends to treat a total of 500,000 acres annually by increasing the pace-and-scale of restoration treatments over the next five years.
Lead Agency
USFS
Assigned Work Group(s)
U.S. Forest Service Identifies California Landscapes at High Wildfire Risk
U.S. Forest Service Identifies California Landscapes at High Wildfire Risk
April 20, 2022 – As part of the Forest Service’s strategy for Confronting the Wildfire Crisis, two landscapes within the Stanislaus and Tahoe national forests will receive targeted investments to increase forest resiliency and health through a broad range of treatments. These two forests will collectively receive $28.6 million in 2022 and an additional $52.1 million over the next three years, for a total of $80.7 million. This funding is being appropriated through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The North Yuba Landscape Resilience area on the Tahoe National Forest and the SERAL (Social and Ecological Resilience Across the Landscape) area on the Stanislaus National Forest are two of 10 landscapes selected nationally to receive this funding. Overall, the 10 landscapes will receive $131 million this year to begin implementing our 10-year strategy for protecting communities and improving resilience in America’s forests.
Advancing Equitable Wildfire Workforce Development
Advancing Equitable Wildfire Workforce Development
April 14, 2022 – The Watershed Research and Training Center advances equity in the wildfire workforce through a pilot training with a local conservation corps, Conservation Corps of North Bay. Developing wildfire and climate resilience through support of a diverse workforce.
Communities are embracing controlled burns
Communities are embracing ‘controlled burns’ to protect themselves
The past few years have led to record wildfires across the U.S. Decades of suppressing fires has led to overgrown forests, and a warming climate has increased their intensity and frequency. Christopher Booker reports from California on community-led efforts to preemptively set controlled fires, reducing the risk from large out-of-control fires while also restoring the ecological health of the forest.
RESOURCES
Can Prescribed Fires Mitigate Health Harm?
Can Prescribed Fires Mitigate Health Harm?
A Review of Air Quality & Public Health Implications of Wildfire & Prescribed Fire
Fire is critical to maintaining the health, resiliency, and diversity of habitats and ecosystems. Indigenous peoples of North America have used cultural fires for millennia to enhance biodiversity and other ecosystem benefits, as well as for ceremonial activities. Following Euro-American colonization, practices and policies shifted to promote fire exclusion, contributing to increased fuel loading and increased wildfire risk.