workgroup

Most of California’s water supply originates in our forested watersheds, supplying the water used by tens of millions of people, supporting globally significant agriculture, generating significant energy through hydropower, and sustaining diverse fish and wildlife. Wildfire directly impacts watersheds, and conversely healthy watersheds play a key role in mitigating catastrophic wildfires. The Watershed Work Group is promoting the alignment and coordination of fire resiliency and watershed health programs and plans that share similar priorities.

The Communications Work Group is providing expertise and advisement to the Task Force leadership, contractors, and work groups on communications, reporting, and outreach. The Work Group is acting as an inter-agency/organizational hub to promote, share, and coordinate messaging and opportunities between Task Force partners.

Understanding the dynamics of forest management and forest health outcomes is more important than ever as California aims to increase investment in land management to deliver on broader state goals. The Monitoring, Reporting, and Assessment Work Group develops shared data resources to help track progress towards these goals and to support planning and implementation work on the ground. Further, this Work Group coordinates monitoring activities undertaken by different agencies across the state to better identify stewardship needs, assess effectiveness, and identify information gaps.

Recent catastrophic wildfires have damaged critical wildlife habitat, imperiled fisheries, watersheds, municipal water sources, threatened public safety due to mudslides and impacted rural, tourism-based economies. These events also threaten the long-term productivity of forest soils through erosion and changes in soil properties. The Reforestation Work Group is creating a holistic, comprehensive and coordinated reforestation strategy that reflects Shared Stewardship principles and can meet the needs of both state and federal lands.

A central recommendation of the state’s Forest Carbon Plan and the National Forest Planning Rule is to build and maintain regional approaches to improve the health and resilience of forested landscapes. The benefits of a regional approach include alignment of state and federal goals and mandates at a regional level, facilitating multi-benefit and multi-jurisdictional projects, and empowering local governments and collaboratives to set priorities and integrate forest resilience and sustainable development programs.

While beneficial fire has been used as a vegetation management tool across California for many years, several factors have limited its widespread use including resource availability, liability issues and public acceptance of fire and smoke. Federal, state and local agencies, tribal governments, non-governmental organizations and landowners understand the urgency in overcoming these barriers to increase the use of beneficial fire. These entities come together in the Beneficial Fire Work Group, and are actively collaborating to get more “good” fire on the ground.

Approximately one-third of the three million acres of state-owned land are at high risk from uncontrolled wildfire. A comprehensive strategy is being applied to expand forest management and improve the health and resilience of forested state lands in order to protect some of our most valuable natural areas such as State Parks, demonstration forests and CDFW-managed wildlife areas. The State Lands Work Group is leading this effort and organizes and prioritizes wildfire resilience projects on state-owned and managed lands. 

 The Workforce Development Work Group is developing and promoting training and vocational programs and other strategies to expand our forestry-related workforce. 

Outdoor recreation plays an essential, multi-benefit role in public health, quality of life, and economic activity in California. The sector is responsible for 691,000 jobs, $92 billion in economic benefits, and vital economic activity in forested communities. Significant new state and federal funding sources will provide opportunities for integrated sustainable recreation and forest health projects. Much of this work will be implemented through partnerships with state, local, and tribal governments, NGOs, and others as part of the Shared Stewardship framework and the Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force.

Government agencies alone cannot hope to adequately reduce fire risk and preserve healthy and sustainable forest lands. State and federal policies must attract private sector investments into a vibrant wood products market that advances the state’s sustainable forest management strategy. Facilitating expanded economic activity in this sector will increase the value of woody biomass and help meet our state’s sustainable forest management goals.