American Forests Responds to the CAL FIRE 45-Day Report
On March 5, 2019, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) presented Governor Gavin Newsom with a 45-day report that includes a list of 35 strategically defined projects to maximize safety and improve forest health. These projects include immediate opportunities as well as longer-term projects.
“Restoring forest health and resilience in the Sierra Nevada is urgently needed to protect the climate, water, people, and wildlife benefits these forests provide local residents and people across California,” said Jad Daley, President, and CEO of American Forests. “We commend the actions recommended in this report as excellent steps to immediately begin to protect California’s most vulnerable communities and forests,”
In California, the length of the fire season has increased by 75 days across the Sierra Nevada. And the state can expect to experience longer fire seasons, increase frequency and severity of drought, greater acreage burned and the related impact such as widespread tree mortality and bark beetle infestations. It is estimated that as many as 15 million acres of California fire forest need some form of restoration.
“In some places, we may only have a decade to reverse trends and create healthy and resilient forests into the future,” said Daley. “American Forests is very proud to partner with CAL FIRE as well as other agencies and non-government stakeholders to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration in these challenging times. We look forward to furthering actions based on CAL FIRE’s recent findings.”
American Forests is the nation’s first forest organization, founded in 1875, and has completed more of its forest restoration projects in California than any other state. American Forests is represented in California by Brittany Dyer, California State Director, who is the co-chair of the State of California’s Tree Mortality Task Force.
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About American Forests
Founded in 1875, American Forests is the nation’s oldest conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring America’s forests, but our work today is more important than ever because forests are a natural climate solution. Since 1990 alone, we have planted over 60 million trees in forest restoration projects in all 50 U.S. states. We have also worked in dozens of cities across America, expanding tree canopy and making our communities more sustainable, beautiful, and livable. Together, these projects recover hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlife habitat, safeguard vital watersheds, absorb millions of tons of greenhouse gases and protect some of the most stunning landscapes in America.
Media Contact
Michael Woestehoff | Director of Communications | 202-507-3043 (direct) | mwoestehoff@americanforests.org