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
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) .
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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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.
RESOURCES
US Forest Service Response
Governor Newsom’s Recap of Climate Week 2022
USFS Will Resume its Prescribed Fire Program
USDA Forest Service Chief Randy Moore Announces Actions the USFS Will Take to Resume its Prescribed Fire Program
Update on USFS’ Prescribed Fire Pause. In a statement announced on September 8, USFS Chief Randy Moore has decided – based on a thorough review, findings, and recommendations provided by its National Review Team – to conditionally resume the USFS’s prescribed fire program nationwide. The conditions include a requirement that all USFS units immediately follow all seven tactical recommendations identified in the National Prescribed Fire Program Review. These actions will ensure prescribed fire plans are up to date with the most recent science, that key factors and conditions are closely evaluated the day of a prescribed burn, and that decisionmakers are engaged in those burns in real time to determine whether a prescribed burn should be implemented.
RESOURCES
Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center
U.S. Forest Service Announcement
CAL FIRE Announces New Vision for The Jackson Demonstration State Forest
CAL FIRE Announces New Vision for The Jackson Demonstration State Forest
Based on discussions with tribal governments and key stakeholders, the new vision will inform an update to the Jackson Management Plan with a renewed focus on climate science, restoration ecology and a new model for tribal co-management. CAL FIRE also announced that timber harvest will resume with a focus on small trees, removing slash piles, permanently protecting large trees, and enhancing protection of culturally sensitive sites.
Wildfire-Safety Work Completed in South Fork Mokelumne Watershed
Wildfire-Safety Work Completed in South Fork Mokelumne Watershed
One year after the 2015 Butte Fire destroyed nearly 500 residences nearby, CAL FIRE identified the South Fork Mokelumne River watershed as a top priority for fuels reduction in order to protect communities from future wildfires. With the recent completion of the South Fork Mokelumne River Watershed Restoration Project Phase 3, many of those wildfire worries have, fortunately, been doused.
Funded by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) in 2019, Phase 3 removed small-diameter trees and ladder fuels on 285 acres of dense, pine-plantation forests managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), completing the project’s goal of restoring roughly 500 acres of forest. Considering the project area borders many neighborhoods and is surrounded by nearby towns, such as Glencoe, Sandy Gulch, Rail Road Flat, and Wilseyville, this strategic work should greatly reduce the threat of wildfire for thousands of Calaveras County residents.
Post Fire Restoration Symposium
Post Fire Restoration Symposium
This virtual symposium focused on how monitoring and research in the southern Sierra Nevada can support post fire restoration planning and help to inform adaptive management. Topics included treatment effects on wildlife, variable density treatments in plantations, hardwood management, aquatics and meadow restoration. Panel discussions provided the opportunity for collaboration on the implications of the work and how to apply this knowledge to future post fire management. The virtual symposium was held and recorded on July 14, 2022.
Presented by: USDA Forest Service Ecology Program, ACCG, SOFAR, and hosted by the California Fire Science Consortium