Why firefighters alone aren’t enough to save every sequoia
onIt took sprinklers and smokejumpers to prevent loss of giant sequoias during the Garnet Fire. Fire resilience is a better strategy.
Meet the League’s mapmaker
onVrinda Suresh is the geographic information systems (GIS) program manager at Save the Redwoods League, where she transforms spatial data into compelling visual stories and conservation planning tools. Vrinda spoke with us about the science and art of modern mapmaking and how maps guide important conservation decisions at the League. Here’s how she brings meaning to maps.
League scientist plays frontline role on the Coffee Pot Fire
onWith a flash of lightning, a fire ignites naturally near several giant sequoia groves in California’s Sierra Nevada. It’s early August and the overly dense vegetation surrounding some of the sequoias is dry and flammable. The threat of a high-intensity, …
Save the Redwoods League and USDA Forest Service sign stewardship agreement to accelerate giant sequoia emergency action
onSave the Redwoods League and the USDA Forest Service have signed a partnership agreement to accelerate stewardship activities in the threatened giant sequoia range. Under this stewardship agreement, the League will lead restoration efforts to reduce the wildfire risk in two giant sequoia groves in partnership with the Forest Service. One of the groves is among the 12 cited in the Forest Service “emergency action” announced in July 2022.
Becoming a reluctant expert in the field of giant sequoia wildfire mortality
onUntil a few years ago, few had ever seen a giant sequoia killed by wildfire
A Look Inside a Prescribed Fire
onSave the Redwoods just led a team of researchers and land stewards from all over California to learn about using prescribed fire (controlled burning) on private lands. Take a peek behind the scenes to see how we use fire as a tool to reduce hazardous buildups of combustible vegetation and improve the health of our forests across League properties and the redwood range.
Why is fire used to manage redwood forests?
onFire is a natural part of the environment and benefits many forests. Prescribed fires have long been used to encourage growth of beneficial and native plant species and reduce the amount of combustible vegetation that could fuel catastrophic wildfires. Thousands of prescribed fires are carried out across the country every year, and they are integral to forest restoration and stewardship.
Managing for Fire
onThrough thoughtful stewardship practices, the ways we seek to emulate aspects of the natural state of the forest can also work in conjunction with how we manage forestland into the future.
Prescribed Fire and Coast Redwood Prairies
onDuring a brief burn window in October, crews from California State Parks and the National Park Service diligently worked to restore the natural process of fire to various ecosystems in over 2,800 acres of Redwood National and State Parks.
Lighting Up a New Path
onI had just arrived at the first ever Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (WTREX), and I was one of about 30 participants from around the world who would spend the next ten days learning about, sharing experiences in, and working on controlled burning, with a focus on supporting women in fire management positions.
Modern Fire Management and Ancient Land Stewardship Traditions
onAfter witnessing the many wildfires that occurred over the past summer, it’s hard not to think of them as extremely destructive. However, fires are misunderstood; they play an integral role in the unique ecosystems that California has to offer.
Burning Cape Vizcaino
onThe view from the picnic table was grand to be sure, the blue infinities of sea and sky meeting where the distant fog gathered offshore (and coastal fog, when you think about it, really is the perfect blend of the …
Native American Use of Fire
onIn discussing fire, it is important to think about who managed the forests before us, and how that has influenced what the forests look like today. Many different Native American groups lived throughout the redwood region, each utilizing the natural …
One Way to Manage and Protect a Forest: Burn It
onLately we have been thinking a lot about fire. It is fire season in California and sadly huge fires in the west are making headlines with their destructive activity. So, we’ve been discussing ways to decrease these devastating forest fires. …
Setting Fire to the Forest
onWe’ll do all the law’s allowin’/Tomorrow I’ll be right back plowin’/ settin’ the woods on fire —Hank Williams In a recent post, I discussed the role of natural disturbance in creating the forests we see today. This week, I’d like …