Rangeland Ecology & Management

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CALIFORNIA'S FIRST STEPS IN PRESCRIBED BURN ASSOCIATIONS
Author
Stackhouse, Jeff
Quinn-Davidson, Lenya N.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2018
Body

In California, some of the most valued landscapes are the ones that humans have actively managed with fire: grasslands, woodlands, pine forests. Unfortunately, across much of the state, humans have lost their connections with fire; the fear of liability, the perceived complexity of permits and regulations, and the generational and cultural gaps in fire experience have virtually eliminated fire from the toolbox for most landowners. In recent history, CAL FIRE has been the leader in private lands burning. In the 1980s, their Vegetation Management Program (VMP) was responsible for 30,000-65,000 acres of prescribed burning every year, but in recent decades, those numbers have consistently fallen short of 10,000 acres a year�a drop in the bucket given the habitat and fuels issues that face California. CAL FIRE is currently revamping and reinvesting in the VMP, but it�s become clear that other pathways are needed for landowners to reclaim fire as the important tool that it is. One of the most promising models of landowner-led burning is the prescribed burn association (PBA) model, through which landowners and other interested partners can work together to burn each other�s properties. In 2015, there were 62 PBAs, almost all of which were in the Great Plains and Texas. The PBA model has spread into parts of the Southeast, too, but these types of efforts have been noticeably absent in the West. Over the last year, the PBA model has gained traction in Humboldt County, CA. University of CA Cooperative Extension advisors have worked with landowners, non-governmental organizations, volunteer fire departments, and others to host workshops and trainings and increase the capacity for landowner-led burning, and the formation of California�s first PBA is anticipated in 2018.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Reno, NV