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Fighting fire with beavers: How dam-building rodents are deployed to prevent megafires, restore scorched wildlands

Bay Stephens

April 19, 2024 |

The Colorado Sun |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

Riverscapes inhabited by beavers fare far better than other areas during extreme wildfires because they hold back and spread out water, pushing it further into the ground. These spaces become critical pockets of habitat for animals to shelter in and can function as fire breaks. Restoration experts in Colorado are building structures that mimic beaver dams in hopes of replicating the effect and, if they’re lucky, incentivizing beavers to return.

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As Climate Change Intensifies Wildfire Risk, Prescribed Burns Prove Their Worth in the Heat-Stressed Plains of the Texas Panhandle

Keaton Peters

April 15, 2024 |

Inside Climate News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Borger, Texas

Private landowners in Borger, Texas, are hiring certified burn managers to do prescribed burns on their land that remove excess vegetation and help prevent wildfires. The landowners are legally liable for any issues that may arise and front the initial cost, but they can be reimbursed by the Texas A&M Forest Service, which is working to encourage adoption of the practice.

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How to Revive a Burned Forest? Rebuild the Tree Supply Chain

Lydia DePillis

April 04, 2024 |

The New York Times |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Mast Reforestation sells carbon credits to fund its work replanting trees where forests were decimated by wildfires. The company collects seeds from local, native trees, uses x-ray machines to ensure they are likely to sprout, and plants them.

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The Government Set a Fire in New Mexico. It Burned 341,735 Acres

Colleen Hagerty

March 10, 2024 |

Rolling Stone |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Mexico

The most destructive wildfire in New Mexico’s modern history started as a prescribed burn managed by the United States Forest Service. These fires are meticulously planned and executed to remove flora that increases the risk of extreme wildfires, and the vast majority of them go as planned. The Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak Fire did not, leaving officials and locals to assess what went wrong and rebuild the impacted communities.

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Wildfires are killing California's ancient giants. Can seedlings save the species?

Lauren Sommer Ryan Kellman

February 26, 2024 |

NPR |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, California

The United States National Park Service is planting giant sequoia tree seedlings in groves that were decimated by extreme wildfires in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The effort aims to preserve the endangered species as the organization doesn’t believe the trees in these areas will regenerate on their own.

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The all-women crew fighting Indonesia's peatland fires

Aseanty Levi

February 16, 2024 |

BBC |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, West Kalimantan, Borneo

The Power of Mama is an all-female firefighting unit that protects the health and livelihoods of the local community and environment by working with village authorities to educate local farmers on safe practices to prevent wildfires and preserve the ecosystem. The unit formed in 2022 with just 44 volunteers, but has since grown to 92 members aged 19 to 60 across six villages.

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In Oregon, a youth program prepares vulnerable landowners for wildfires

Nathan Wilk

February 07, 2024 |

Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Dexter, Oregon

Oregon’s Community Wildfire Protection Corps pays young adults to remove overgrown brush to make fire-safe buffers around the homes of people who are older, disabled, or without financial means. At the same time, the youth who participate receive training for careers in wildland firefighting.

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Power of Mama: the women firefighters of West Borneo

Rita Utari

January 18, 2024 |

BBC |

Video |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: Indonesia, Ketapang

An all-women firefighting team in Ketapang, Indonesia, is stopping people from setting fires to clear land, a practice called slash and burn, and putting out the fires they can’t prevent. Arsonists often set fire to peatlands, which pollutes the air and releases stored carbon dioxide.

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In the Scar of New Mexico's Largest Wildfire, a Legal Battle Is Brewing: What Is Victims' Suffering Worth?

Patrick Lohmann Byard Duncan

January 04, 2024 |

ProPublica |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Mexico

New Mexico law would allow wildfire victims to seek compensation for noneconomic damages. But the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency said the federal law that established a compensation fund for a wildfire accidentally started by the U.S. Forest Service limits payments to tangible losses. Now, victims are suing the agency, claiming it improperly denied them compensation that they need to rebuild.

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A US pine species thrives when burnt. Southerners are rekindling a 'fire culture' to boost its range

James Pollard

December 15, 2023 |

Associated Press |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, West End, North Carolina

Community-led volunteer groups in the American Southeast are clearing undergrowth by lighting prescribed burns to prevent future forest fires and make space for longleaf pine trees to grow. Much of their work is done on private property, where state governments are cautious to send the burners they employ because of liability concerns.

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