For Immediate Release, Sacramento, CA. April 18, 2023
Foresters Cite Extreme Wildfire Impacts to Sequoia Groves, Federal Public Lands
Unveil New Policy Statements at State Forestry Board, Call for Science-Based Reforms
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.
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.
