Synthesis Report: Wildfire Crisis Strategy Roundtable
Synthesis Report: Wildfire Crisis Strategy Roundtable
In spring of 2022, the National Forest Foundation (NFF), together with the USFS, hosted a series of virtual ten roundtables for employees and partners of the agency to gather input on the USFS’s Confronting the Wildfire Crisis Strategy and associated Implementation Plan. NFF has published a report synthesizing key themes and opportunities for action that emerged from the roundtables.
The NFF will host a webinar on Monday, November 14, 2-3:30 p.m. EST, to share more information about the report, discuss next steps, and provide an opportunity for Q&A with Forest Service leadership.
RESOURCES
National Forest Foundation Roundtables
The 2021 Caldor Fire: One Year Later Video Series
The 2021 Caldor Fire: One Year Later Video Series
October 21, 2022, marks exactly one year since the Caldor Fire was completely contained.
Over the last year and with months of research and collaboration, the Eldorado National Forest released a four-part series examining the Caldor Fire. This series reviews the suppression efforts that took place, the fire behavior challenging firefighters, the road to rehabilitation and restoration, and what is being done now to lower the future risk of fire to communities.
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Episode 1: Initial response and experiences of firefighters who not only worked but also lived in the area
Episode 2: How fire behavior and fuel conditions made for a challenging fire fight
Episode 3: What restoration and rehabilitation work has occurred and its importance
Episode 4: What is being done to reduce extreme wildfire behavior
Eastern Sierra Recreation Update
Eastern Sierra Climate Communities Resilience Project aims to reduce wildfire danger and improve forest health and resilience around the Town of Mammoth Lakes
Good things are happening in the Eastern Sierra thanks to collaborative efforts between state, federal, and local partners. These efforts will not only help build resiliency of Mammoth Lakes and the forests, but sustain the recreation economy that Mammoth provides in the Eastern Sierra.
Mammoth Lakes “Donut” Project: The Eastern Sierra Climate and Communities Resilience Project, known locally as the “Mammoth Donut,” is wrapping up its two-year preplanning phase and implementation will soon begin under this multi-year wildfire and forest resiliency project. Spanning 56,000 acres of Inyo National Forest across six different watersheds and managed by the Whitebark Institute, the planning for this landscape-scale project included input from a wide range of partners and was enabled by funding from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, and the Regional Fire and Forest Capacity Program. The Inyo National Forest is now inviting public input on this project.
Mammoth Lakes Basin Trails Ribbon Cutting: On October 5th, Inyo National Forest and the Town of Mammoth Lakes officially opened several new trails in the Mammoth Lakes Basin. These new trails are a result of the community engagement effort from the Lakes Basin Special Study, an effort that began in 2012 led by the Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access Foundation (MLTPA), MLTPA, with grant funding from SNC.
RESOURCES
MLTPA: Lakes Basin Special Study
Mammoth Lakes Trail System: RibbonCutting Celebration for New LakesBasin Trails
SNC’s Mammoth Lakes Donut Project
LiDAR Data Collection for Northern California and Sierra Nevada
LiDAR Data Collection for Northern California and Sierra Nevada
The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), in partnership with the US Geologic Survey’s 3DEP Program and other entities, have now collected nearly 31.5 million acres of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) covering large swaths of Northern California and the Sierra Nevada. These data fill substantial gaps in LiDAR coverage to improve the state’s ability to manage natural resources and protect public safety, directly enhancing our knowledge of forests and landforms in some of the most rugged and fire prone portions of the state. The $3.9M investment by CNRA is a portion of the funding for LiDAR and other remote sensing data that has been made available from funding allocated by the California Legislature (Budget Bill 21/21) .
Private Landowner Assistance Work Group | September 2022 Action Item Updates
Private Landowner Assistance Work Group | September 2022 Action Item Updates
Progress is being made on key Action Items from the Private Landowner Assistance Work Group’s Implementation Strategy. Read the update (link below) for a report on a few emerging EFRTS, NRCS‐CA new forestry technical and financial assistance agreements with partners, and UC Extension Stewardship Workshops.
RESOURCES
Recap of the Task Force Sierra Nevada Regional Meeting
Recap of the Task Force Sierra Nevada Regional Meeting
Nearly 500 gathered in Grass Valley on September 27 for the regional meeting of the Task Force. The agenda focused on the Sierra Nevada Region and the Task Force’s efforts to develop a Regional Framework, translating statewide strategies to regional decision making and priority setting.The regional meeting of the Governor’s Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force brought together a wide range of experts and agency partners for updates and in-depth panel discussions on the State’s progress on wildfire and forest resilience. Presentations were recorded and can be viewed at the link below.
Forest Resilience in the Sierra Nevada: The Task Force’s interagency science team reviewed their efforts to develop a comprehensive set of metrics and a Sierra Regional Resource Kit aimed at helping forest collaboratives measure and map wildfire resilience, biodiversity, carbon storage, watershed health, and other key priorities. Google.org unveiled the Planscape tool, developed to work with the Regional Resource Kits to help resource managers with prioritizing projects and treatments.
• Moderator: John Battles
• UCB Alan Talhelm, CARB
• Tadashi Moody, CAL FIRE-FRAP
• Pat Manley, USFS-PSW
• Michele Turner & Mojia Shen, Google.org
From Data to Decision-Making: Forest Service leaders and their partners shared their efforts in using decision support tools for planning and prioritizing projects with their partners and communities. These landscape level land managers also gave us special insight to the opportunities and challenges specific to their national forests.
• Moderator: Forest Schafer, Tahoe Conservancy
• Eli Ilano, USFS
• Willie Whittlesey, Yuba Water Agency
• Jason Kuiken, USFS
• Patrick Koepele, Tuolumne River Trust
• Jeff Marsolais, USFS
• Angel Hertslet, The Nature Conservancy
Resources For Resilience: Task Force partners USFS and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy described how they are actively working to align funding to high priority landscapes. A description of SNC’s pilot project is below.
• Moderator: Melinda Booth, SYRCL
• Jonathan Kusel, Sierra Institute
• Sherry Hazelhurst, USFS
• Angela Avery, SNC
• Steve Frisch, Sierra Business Council
Recreation Strategy Update: Finally, state, federal, local, and tribal leaders of CALREC Vision outlined their strategic plan to promote equitable, accessible, and climate and fire-resilient outdoor recreation facilities throughout the state.
• Greg Williams, Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship
• John Wentworth, CALREC Vison
• Jim Bacon, USFS
• Katherine Toy, CNRA
CNRA Announces Tool to Improve Wildfire Resilience with Support from Google.org
CNRA announces tool to Improve Wildfire Resilience with Support from Google.org
The CNRA and the USDA FOREST SERVICE, along with support from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, has developed Planscape – a new wildfire resilience planning tool that uses state and federal resilience data to create user-friendly models that will be easily accessible to land planners. A demonstration of Planscape was released at the California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force meeting on September 27th, 2022. The new, open-source tool will permit everyone to evaluate fire risks and remedies.
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California State Legislature Invests $150 Million for Green Schools
California State Legislature Invests $150 Million for Green Schools
California officials and climate activists gathered at Pacoima Middle School to celebrate $150 million being invested to help greenify schools across the state.
The funds, approved by the state legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom, will be used to plant grass and trees in asphalt-covered schoolyards. The investment comes at a time when California has been experiencing its longest and most intense heat wave on record.
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CAL FIRE: Urban and Community Forestry
Green Schoolyards of America
SNC to Pilot Wildfire Resilience Landscape Investment Strategy
SNC to Pilot Wildfire Resilience Landscape Investment Strategy
Made possible by increased state and federal funding and cooperation, the the Landscape Grant Pilot Program will give land managers a new tool that seeks to meet the wildfire crisis where it is occurring—at the landscape level. The program will seek to align funding from multiple entities to provide one or two large landscape grants that support strategic portfolios of projects across large landscapes over a 5- to 10-year timeframe. The program will help SNC implement its Sierra Nevada Landscape Investment Strategy
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Expert Roundtable on Wildfire and Forest Resilience
Expert Roundtable on Wildfire and Forest Resilience
Exacerbated by climate change, the increasing frequency and scale of wildfires have devastated communities and ecosystems around the world, while releasing vast quantities of carbon into the atmosphere.
In the face of these accelerating challenges, calls for climate-smart management of natural lands have grown louder among policymakers, experts, and stakeholders. Government and civil society programs have begun investing in forest resilience and nature-based solutions to deliver on mitigation and adaptation goals, working with Indigenous partners whose knowledge and experience are vital.
Recognizing the need to bring together interdisciplinary, international coalitions to advance wildfire prevention, mitigation, and response, Prime Minister Trudeau and Governor Newsom committed their respective governments to hosting a roundtable on wildfire and forest resilience within their broader Climate Action and Nature Protection Partnership which they announced in June. By bringing together officials, academics, industry and civil society at UN Climate Week, this event delivers on that vision. By convening thought leaders to discuss our collective challenges, Canada and California hope to discuss collective challenges and chart next steps.
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US Forest Service Response
Governor Newsom’s Recap of Climate Week 2022