Two new awards from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) are supporting League work to increase the carbon sequestration potential of redwood and giant sequoia ecosystems, while protecting them and surrounding communities from the threat of severe wildfires. The projects are part of a statewide program to cut greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen the economy, and improve public health and the environment, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
Restoring our redwood and giant sequoia forests and protecting them from severe wildfires requires managing buildups of combustible vegetation, or fuels, that result from years of fire suppression. The work involves thinning dense stands of young trees and reducing accumulations of vegetation and woody debris from the forest floor, either through prescribed fire or mechanical methods. Such efforts help make redwood and giant sequoia groves less vulnerable to severe wildfires and also accelerate the development of old-growth forest characteristics, such as greater carbon sequestration, in younger stands.
The League is reducing fuels in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, California State Parks, local groups, and private landowners. The two CAL FIRE-supported projects are the Redwoods to the Sea Corridor Forest Resilience Project in Humboldt County, which won a $1.3 million award, and the Giant Sequoia Forest Resilience Project in Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties on our Beaver Creek property and the adjacent Calaveras Big Trees State Park. This project won a $2.4 million award.
These projects are part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Cap-and-Trade program creates a financial incentive for industries to invest in clean technologies and develop innovative ways to reduce pollution.
California Climate Investments projects involve environmental restoration, renewable energy, public transportation, zero-emission vehicles, more sustainable agriculture, recycling and much more. Learn more at California Climate Investments (external link).
