The attached opinion was originally published in the October 12, 2023 Sacramento Bee and was written by Bill Keye, the CalSAF Communications Chair. In the article, he references the CalSAF position statement on Forestry Solutions to California’s Wildfire Crisis.
Some of the Dixie and Caldor fire statistics come from the USDA Forest Service reports located at https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r5/plants-animals/?cid=FSEPRD1087476.
The following article was written by Grace Dean and published on-line at https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=57861 on September 13th, 2023 in the UCANR Forest Research and Outreach Newsletter. Click on the link to see the accompanying photos.
The window of summer is closed, and that ‘back to school’ feeling everyone knows has settled in – the excitement, the nerves, the first 7AM breakfast you’ve had in the last few months. However, the magic of summer lingers, and is a bit more difficult to express in words alone. Rachelle Hedges, Project and Policy Analyst for Berkeley Forests, knows that magic all too well. She sees it every year on the faces of students who come to UC Berkeley’s Forestry Field Camp and its new little sibling, Forestry Mini-Camp. Both summer camps take place at 100-year old Plumas National Forest site. Hedges sets the scene: “It’s incredibly peaceful: no cars, and no lights. You see people fall in love with the forest and forestry, and the specialness of these people and this place.”
While Forestry Field Camp is a summer school session for University of California undergraduates, Mini-Camp is a bit different. This one-week condensed version of the eight-week Field Camp serves as both an outreach and educational tool. Its purpose is to get community college students from around the state and UC Berkeley undergraduates interested in UC Berkeley’s Ecosystem Management and Forestry major.
For Hedges, getting a cohort of community college students to Mini-Camp was also a chance to demystify the UC Berkeley experience. Hedges specifically targeted colleges that have forestry or natural resource programs, but there was no requirement that students had to have applied to UC Berkeley. By chance, most of the cohort came from urban California communities.
The Mini-Camp curriculum is loosely based on the Forestry Field Camp, but there is an emphasis on getting students out of the classroom and into the outdoors. “We want students to have fun!” Hedges emphasizes. “A lot of what camp has to offer is the fun: swimming at the lake, hiking- we want students to get excited and interested in a future at Berkeley.” Interspersing the summer camp experience was a full day on Sierra Nevada forest ecology taught by UC Berkeley instructor Rainbow de Silva, a forestry skills training led by UC ANR forestry advisor Susie Kocher, a forestry workforce presentation by Hedges, and other glimpses into forestry academia and its career world. The week was capped off by an alumni breakfast, where students could interact with past forestry majors and witness the closeness of the UC Berkeley forestry alumni network.
The Berkeley forestry network is one of the major’s strongest selling points, notes Hedges. For the community college students who attended Mini-Camp, they’re able to make those connections even before becoming a Berkeley student. “Now,” Hedges begins, “they have a preexisting network.” The feeling of starting a new school, the blend of excitement and nervousness? When those students start at Berkeley, that feeling will be eased by the people already waiting for them with “open arms”.
“Forestry is a concept that’s a bit hard to understand if you haven’t experienced it,” Hedges expresses. The nature of Mini-Camp, to blend the fun with education, gives students that opportunity to see how they fit into this field. For some community college students, applying to Berkeley was an immediate goal once they left camp. Others weren’t so sure, but Hedges doesn’t see that as a bad thing: “Word of mouth is great, they’ll go back and tell their friends about the experience. We don’t need everyone to go to a four-year university. We just need to get people excited about forestry.”
The Forestry and Natural Resources Career Mentorship Program is seeking qualified forestry professionals to serve as mentors for the ’23-’24 academic year. This program pairs college students in 8 forestry programs in California with a mentor who can provide tailored guidance as they enter the field. More information on the Program can be found on the Placer RCD website: https://placerrcd.org/projects/mentorship/.
Applications are due September 30th, 2023.
Hello Friends of the Forestry Challenge,
It’s that time of year again! Everything is on track in our 20th anniversary year’s fall event season, including some long-term stability in the form of a new 4-year CalFire Wildfire Prevention Grant. Participation numbers are looking strong and we are again expecting a record-breaking year. To see which schools are coming, you can go to our interactive map.
Approximately 25 to 30 volunteers are needed per event. The event dates for the 2023 Forestry Challenge season are:
If you are able to spend as little as a few hours or as much as a few days, please visit the website and follow the link to the volunteer registration form at the top of the homepage. You can be reimbursed for mileage at the volunteer rate of 14 cents per mile, and meals and housing are provided. Volunteers also receive a fabulous event t-shirt! You are welcome to volunteer for any “job” that is best for your schedule and interest. A list of “jobs”, including the duties and hours for each, is linked here and also on the volunteer form.
For questions, contact Diane Dealey Neill, Executive Director Forestry Educators, Inc. at dianedealeyneill@gmail.com.
HOST UPCOMING NATIONAL CONVENTION IN SACRAMENTO
For Immediate Release Sacramento, CA August 10, 2023
Scientists and natural resource professionals are pushing back against the myth that doing nothing is the best way of protecting California’s seasonally dry forest and wildland ecosystems. Citing peer-reviewed research and alarming 21st Century increases in wildfire severity and forest loss, the California Society of American Foresters (Cal-SAF) has produced two far-reaching position statements in response to the crisis.
“Months of tough collegial dialogue went into the preparation of these papers,” said Cal SAF Chair Karin Linnen. “Our forests and their associated values are in decline. The public deserves a better understanding of why, and what needs to be done to protect and restore them for future generations.”
Conventional media reports commonly link wildfire events with climate change. Foresters don’t dispute climate science, but do know a great deal about vegetative dynamics, especially with respect to the deteriorating condition of our seasonally dry forests in the West. The clear linkage between unnaturally high accumulations of flammable woody fuels and extreme wildfire events is often overlooked by media outlets in favor of the preferred climate narrative. It’s unfortunate, because only active forest management offers immediately available, proven practices that reduce forest fuels. When implemented and maintained, these can modify the behavior and intensity of future wildfires – even during cyclical periods of drought.
The referenced policy statements, Sustaining native giant sequoia groves requires active, adaptive management and Forestry Solutions to California’s Wildfire Crisis are posted on the Cal-SAF website, https://californiasaf.org/policy/.
Cal-SAF is also preparing to host this year’s National SAF Convention, to be held October 25-28 in Sacramento. The event will draw forestry experts and practitioners from across the United States, offering an unparalleled opportunity for media engagement. Convention tours (10/25) include a visit to UC Berkeley’s Blodgett Forest Research Station as well as a trip to the Caldor Fire, an unprecedented and highly destructive 2021 trans-Sierra megafire. The website is safconvention.org.
For More Information please contact:
Bill Keye, Cal-SAF Communications Chair, wwkeye@gmail.com, (530) 355-0670.
The California Society of American Foresters
Cal-SAF is a State Society of the Society of American Foresters (SAF). SAF is a professional association with headquarters in Washington, DC. The Society is organized across the United States and Canada, serving as an accreditation and research body representing all segments of the forestry profession; including public and private practitioners, administrators, educators, and forestry students. SAF governs a majority of the political and scientific topics at the national level, which allows each jurisdiction to represent itself independently, guided by SAF’s Mission and Code of Ethics.
Hello, hello! My name is Louis Cimmino – I’m an undergraduate forestry student at UC Berkeley, and I’m so thrilled to be serving District 3 this year as its SAF Student Executive Committee representative! Originally from the northeast, I’ve been so fortunate to have experienced forests across the country – and across all of SAF’s districts! – throughout my life so far. As a student, I am most passionate about researching and studying California Indigenous ecological traditions, payment for ecosystem service programs, and the intersections of agriculture and forest management. Forestry means the world to me, so I can’t wait to begin connecting with student members across the district and country to spread the excitement!
From the website editor – The SAF Student Executive Committee (SEC), composed of 11 student members, one from each SAF voting district, enhances the engagement of student members and organizes student activities during the national convention. The chair of the SEC also represents students during the House of Society Delegates meeting and as a non-voting member of the SAF Board of Directors. Positions roll over annually with term from June 1 through May 31.
California SAF also wants to thank Emily Thyroff for her work as our former District 3 student rep. Emily’s term ended May 31st.
For Immediate Release, Sacramento, CA. April 18, 2023
We’ve been loving our forests to death. We can do better. In a nutshell, those were the findings delivered this month to the California State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (BOF). Leaders of the California Society of American Foresters (Cal-SAF) brought those messages, along with two supporting forest policy papers, to the BOF during its April 5th meeting in Sacramento.
The foresters shared grim statistics on the devastating impacts of high-intensity “megafires,” attributing much of the blame to an ongoing lack of management. They said that the destructive trend was reversible. Speakers appealed for the BOF’s assistance in promoting increased public understanding of the root causes of the megafire crisis and the urgent need to respond with proven, science-based forest management solutions.
The policy statements, Sustaining native giant sequoia groves requires active, adaptive management and Forestry Solutions to California’s Wildfire Crisis are posted on the Cal-SAF website, https://californiasaf.org/policy/.
Appearing on behalf of Cal-SAF were Rachelle Hedges (Immediate Past Chair), Dr. Rob York (Science and Technology Chair), Bill Keye (Communications Chair) and Jane LaBoa (Secretary). LaBoa characterized the Forestry Solutions paper as an “unprecedented and bold action” on the part of the professional society. She said, “We hope the public will restore its trust in forestry and natural resources professionals“.
The video of the event is posted on the BOF’s website at https://bof.fire.ca.gov/business/view-only-webinars/. On that page, users will click on the top posting under “April” to gain access to the webcast record. Cal-SAF’s presentation starts at 39:29 and concludes at 1:47:50.
For More Information, or to arrange for interviews, contact:
Bill Keye, Cal SAF Communications Chair, wwkeye@gmail.com, (530) 355-0670.
Cal-SAF is a State Society of the Society of American Foresters (SAF). SAF is a professional association with headquarters in Washington, DC. The Society is organized across the United States and Canada, serving as an accreditation and research body representing all segments of the forestry profession; including public and private practitioners, administrators, educators, and forestry students. SAF governs a majority of the political and scientific topics at the national level, which allows each jurisdiction to represent itself independently, guided by SAF’s Mission and Code of Ethics.
Speakers will call for paradigm shift to “starve” megafires, save Giant Sequoia
For Immediate Release Sacramento, CA April 3, 2023
Members of the California Society of American Foresters (Cal-SAF) are coming to Sacramento on Wednesday, April 5th, to meet with the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (BOF). They will present two new papers, “Sustaining native giant sequoia groves requires active, adaptive management”, and “Forestry Solutions to California’s Wildfire Crisis”. The presentations are set to take place during the morning, beginning at approximately 10:00 AM.
Cal-SAF Chair Karin Linnen stressed that the policy statements reflect a concerted effort by Golden State natural resource professionals. “We are losing our forests, and this absolutely doesn’t need to be happening,” Linnen stated. “California is home to unique and precious native forests – mixed coniferous, coast redwood and Giant Sequoia. We need to protect them for future generations. Wildfires in our state have significantly increased in size and magnitude. Wednesday’s presentations are a great opportunity for us to engage with state officials and to advocate for better outcomes.”
The BOF April meeting agenda, including location and webcast information, is posted at: https://bof.fire.ca.gov/business/meeting-agendas-and-annual-schedules/. The Cal-SAF policy papers are posted on the Society’s website at: https://californiasaf.org/policy/.
For More Information Contact:
Bill Keye, Cal SAF Communications Chair, wwkeye@gmail.com, (530) 355-0670.
The California Society of American Foresters
Cal SAF is a State Society of the Society of American Foresters (SAF). SAF is a professional association with headquarters in Washington, DC. The Society is organized across the United States and Canada, serving as an accreditation and research body representing all segments of the forestry profession; including public and private practitioners, administrators, educators, and forestry students. SAF governs a majority of the political and scientific topics at the national level, which allows each jurisdiction to represent itself independently, guided by SAF’s Mission and Code of Ethics.
