Protecting Sierra Forests

The Sierra Nevada range runs from from north to south along the eastern border of California. Spanning nearly 400 miles long and averaging about 50 miles wide, the Sierra region is home to one of the most diverse temperate conifer forest ecosystems in the world. Fifty percent of California's 7,000 plant species call the Sierra home, including 400 endemic species and 200 rare species. The southern region of the Sierras has the highest concentration of endemic and rare species.

From the western and more populous slope, foothill grasslands give way to oak woodlands, chaparral, and open mixed conifer forests. At higher elevations, ponderosa pine, sugar pine, douglas fir, white fir, cedar and giant sequioas give way to white fir, red fir and subalpine species such as lodgepole pine, montane chapparal, and meadows.

Historically, natural fire was an integral part of the Sierra ecosystem. In Sierra Nevada forests, natural fire consisted of regular low-intensity fires that cleared out the underbrush, allowed meadows to regain real estate taken over by vigorous pine growth, and left an open landscape that benefited the animals and allowed for normal forest succession.

A century of fire suppression efforts have left the Sierra forests prone to insect invasion and catastrophic wildfire.

Sierra forests historically burned frequently, but over the last century, these fires have been suppressed. As a result, Sierra forests are overgrown, unhealthy, and susceptible to bark beetle destruction as well as large, damaging wildfire, all of which cause serious long-term damage.

Prescribed fire managers use pre-treatment methods, like thinning and brushing, to prepare an area for frequent low severity fire. While this method requires long-term, active management of the Sierra forests, it provides the best known means to restore forest health and resiliency.

Across California, small but mighty collaborations are beginning to form between local communities, tribes, and governmental agencies to restore California and Sierra forests to a healthy, natural state. Restoring our natural forests can be a goal we can all get behind.

Catching Fire

Produced By: Will Harling and Jenny Staats, Orleans/Somes Bar Fire Safe Council, Klamath-Salmon Media Collaborative

Narrration By: Peter Coyote Music By: Rex Richardson

For More Information, Contact: Will Harling, will@mkwc.org, (530) 627-3202

Catching Fire tells a compelling story of how a small but committed group of local, tribal, state and federal land managers are bringing back the use of prescribed fire as a tool to protect communities and ecosystems across Northern California. It examines the use of fire by the Karuk Tribe of California, and the connection between the rise of megafires across the West and the last century of fire suppression.

Drawing on interviews with fire scientists, tribal and federal land managers, and fire savvy residents from across the North State, this film provides insight on how our relationship to fire can be restored through strategic use of fire as a powerful management tool.

Wildfire: friend or foe

Wildfires are becoming increasingly common, especially in California, where they have devastated many communities across the state. UC Berkeley professor Scott Stephens outlines the science behind their increasing frequency, as well as strategies to prevent and minimize the threat posed by wildfires. Scott Stephens is a leading expert on fire science and director of the UCB Center for Fire Research and Outreach. Stephens’ research expertise and interests include fire management, forest ecosystems, and fire ecology. He is interested in the interactions of wildland fire and ecosystems, which includes how prehistoric fires once interacted with ecosystems, how current wildland fires are affecting ecosystems, and how future fires, changing climates, and management may change this interaction.

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