April 8, 2021 – In support of the Spring 2021 Cal-TREX Yuba Prescribed Fire training workshop (TRaining EXchange), Open Canopy LLC, Yuba Watershed Institute, and partnering organizations are pleased to host an evening of learning and discussion about the history of fire on the California landscape.

Following these two lectures, a panel discussion will focus on how examining historical cultural burning and what we know about factors influencing fire severity can drive management of our increasingly fire-prone forests. This event will be an opportunity for community members to learn about prescribed fire efforts in our area while interfacing with two of Northern California’s foremost fire ecology experts.

Prescribed Fire TREX events were developed by the US Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to create a cooperative structure for non-traditional fire professionals to get qualified in National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) standards. After the annual training standards are met, these diverse professionals help implement a prescribed burn or prescribed burn activities.  The Cal-TREX Yuba event is supported by funding provided by TNC and CAL FIRE’s Climate Change Investments Fire Prevention grant program, with logistical support from the North San Juan Fire Protection District. Participants will be receiving the same basic firefighter training used by all federal fire agencies (USFS, BLM, BIA, NPS) and taking part in a hands-on prescribed burn event with local cooperators. The goal of the workshop is to equip participants with the knowledge and experience to guide local prescribed burn activities, and to serve as the first in a series of training events focused on building local capacity to reintroduce low-severity fire to the landscape.

Speaker bios for the April 9th virtual public event:

Overview of Cultural Burning: Dr. Don Hankins, Professor of Geography, CSU Chico

Don Hankins, a professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at California State University, Chico, is an expert in pyrogeography, water resources, and conservation. Don is a Miwkoʔ (Plains Miwok) traditional cultural practitioner. Combining his academic and cultural interests, he is particularly focused on applying indigenous land management practices as a keystone process that aids in the conservation and management of resources. He is currently engaged in fire and water research involving indigenous California and Aboriginal Australian communities.

Causes and Consequences of Burn Severity: Dr. Andrew Latimer, Professor of Plant Sciences, UC Davis

Latimer studies responses of California’s plant communities to climate change and disturbance. His work currently focuses on Sierra Nevada forest tree responses to warming, drought, and fire, and on projecting future responses of grassland wildflower populations. As a plant ecologist, he aims to understand the forces that affect population growth and decline, which parts of the plants’ life cycle are especially sensitive to environmental changes, and how interactions among species (e.g. between exotic grasses and native forbs, shrubs and trees) influence their responses.  

For more information about this event, contact Stephen Graydon (open.canopy.fp@gmail.com) or Chris Friedel (chris@yubawatershedinstitute.org).

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83340491831?pwd=Q2R0VHhMVk15dU1zWDVOVlpBbFNoZz09

Call in: +1 669 900 6833, Meeting ID: 833 4049 1831, Passcode: 757324

One tap mobile: +16699006833,,83340491831#,,,,*757324#