State Awards $5 Million Grant for Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience in Southern Humboldt

MRC Saw Crew poses for photo on their first official day at the Chapman Ranch. The crew will later perform falling operations in Sudden Oak Death territory on steep slopes to start repairing the damage done by the Canoe Fire, 2003. (From left to right: Shira Brown, Samuel Keener, David Liming, Wyatt Leach, Bill Leach, Miles Oliart, Liam McPhee, Sam Epperson, Jordan Anderson). Photo by Eleonore J. Anderson

By Southern Humboldt Forest Health Collaborative CAL FIRE has entered into a nearly $5 million grant agreement with the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District (HCRCD) to implement the Mattole and Salmon Creek Forest Health and Wildfire Resilience Project across 1,022 acres of forest and grasslands near the southern Humboldt communities of Petrolia and Salmon Creek…

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Little Things Matter Most: Preparing Your Home for Embers from Wildfires

ember resistant home
This is an example of what makes a home vulnerable to embers. From top middle proceeding clockwise: 1) Tree canopies are too close together and too close to the roof edge. 2) Wooden gate attached directly to the wall allows high intensity fire to burn right up to the structure. 3) A woody shrub with dead material adjacent to the wall and the wooden fence could easily catch embers and spread flames to the home. 4) Another woody shrub with dead material, this time underneath trees, a textbook example of a ladder fuel. Also, the woody mulch would likely burn in an ember storm and spread to the shrub and the wooden fence. Photo source: http://fitzpatrickfenceandrail.com/wood-gates/

The Next Step in Maintaining Defensible Space By Mitchell Danforth, Community Fire Resources Coordinator,Trees Foundation Summer is here, and as we all know, so is wildfire season. Often wildfires are depicted as an indomitable force that sweeps across the landscape, leveling all in its path like a lava flow, and the homes left standing are…

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Defining and Working Toward Forest Health, Utilizing Wood When It’s Cleared, and Regenerating Community

Tan Oak Park

Reviewing a Community Event Series Northern Mendocino Ecosystem Recovery Alliance By Cheyenne Clarke The Eel River Recovery Project and Northern Mendocino Ecosystem Recovery Alliance have concluded their Spring community event series, which was made possible by the Trees Foundation Cereus Grant. Here’s what happened: Forest Health and Fire Resilience Workshop On April 3rd we kicked…

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A Tree Canopy for Every Park, School, and Yard

Releaf planting

With a Goal of Creating an Urban Native-Plant Oasis, ReLeaf Petaluma Hits the Ground Planting ReLeaf Petaluma As a new organization we are making rapid progress planting native trees in our city. People are wanting to take personal action against climate change, and this action is generating lots of support among both citizens and city…

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The Oak Knoll Prescribed Fire:
A Landowner’s Perspective

The Oak Knoll prescribed fire during the burn is set from the top of the hill, working downward to ensure manageable fire behavior.

By Mitchell Danforth Wildfires represent the single greatest threat to most of our inland communities, especially in recent times, as fires have grown in size, intensity, and damage to people and property. It is critical to acknowledge that fires are not good or evil, they simply are—and like floods, landslides, snowstorms, and earthquakes, how we…

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A New Hope: The Northern Mendocino Ecosystem Recovery Alliance

November 2021 in Leggett: the organizing meeting that brought together the NM-ERA team.

Trees Foundation is thrilled to welcome Northern Mendocino Ecosystem Recovery Alliance (NM-ERA) into our Fiscal Sponsorship umbrella. Fiscal Sponsorship is one of the primary ways that Trees Foundation supports the North Coast grassroots environmental community. It allows groups to move swiftly forward in accomplishing their objectives, while we handle the 501(c)3 bookkeeping and financial reporting…

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The Cereus Fund of Trees Foundation Continues to Help Grassroots Environmental Advocacy in the Redwoods Region

The following pages highlight grassroots environmental projects supported by the Cereus Fund of Trees Foundation in 2021. Established in 1998, the Cereus Fund is a part of Trees Foundation’s Donor Advised Program which allows individuals to donate and direct funding to projects of their choice, which Trees Foundation administers on their behalf. To learn more…

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Community Organizing for Fire Resilience

The following is a partial transcript of the “Pathways to Fire Resilience” webinar held on Oct. 3rd in lieu of an in-person Trees Foundation 30th Anniversary event, which was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. Ali Freedlund was the first presenter, followed by Margo Robbins, Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Tim Bailey, Will Harling, and Cybelle Immitt. To view…

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The Map: A Mythic Recollection

By Jeff Hedin Editor’s Note: We are excited to announce that the Mateel Region Conservation Context map—23 years in the making—is now available on our website at treesfoundation.org/map. We would like to acknowledge the dedicated work of activists Jeff Hedin and Rob DiPerna in the creation of this map, and to Trees Foundation’s past GIS…

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Pathways to Fire Resilience Webinar

Watch the recording on YouTube How do we make our rural communities better prepared for wildfire? What resources and plans can support the safety of our firefighters, citizens, and homes? The following speakers will cover these topics and more, and are prepared to answer your questions! Pathways to Fire Resilience Panelists included: Ali Freedlund, Trees…

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