California’s native forests and woodlands are being altered by high severity fire at an alarmingly rapid rate and scale. This paper focuses on California’s unique situation in terms of values at risk and the critical role of professional forest management in creating fire resilient forests in a warming climate. This Position Statement was adopted by the California Society of American Foresters in January 2023 and replaces the 2019 California SAF policy statement entitled California’s Wildfire Emergency.
