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.
