01.6.2020
5 Ways to Reduce Wildfire Risk in California
The CO2 Coalition presents a new publication series, Science & Policy Briefs, which summarizes issues that are addressed in more detail in our White Papers and Climate Issues in Depth papers.
The first in this series, 5 Ways to Reduce Wildfire Risk in California, was written by Jim Steele and Genesis Torres. Mr. Steele is an ecologist and retired Director of San Francisco State University’s Sierra Nevada field Campus and Ms. Torres is an aquatic ecologist and the CO2 Coalition’s Science Associate. In this brief, they write
Historically, due to scant surface fuels, sagebrush habitat burned about every 60 to 100 years. However, invading annual grasses, like cheatgrass, now extend the fire season and promote large fires every three to five years. Targeted holistic grazing is another strategic and profitable approach to wildfires, in which cows, sheep, or goats can reduce those easily ignited fuels.