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Prescribed burns and wildfire in Santa Cruz County

Stephen Baxter

December 21, 2020 |

Santa Cruz Local |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Santa Cruz, California

The number of prescribed burn associations in California is on the rise, advocating for more controlled fires that could prevent larger wildfires. There are at least 13 in the Golden State with the latest being the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association. Their mission is to help private landowners through the complex process of organizing a prescribed burn and to educate them about the effectiveness and limitations of the technique. So far, they’ve had 125 who are interested in getting involved and they received a grant of more than $300,000 from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

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Powrót wilka

Krzysztof Story

December 14, 2020 |

Tygodnik Powszechny |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Poland

Współpraca naukowców, organizacji pozarządowych, ekologów i rządu pozwoliła na przywrócenie naturze polskiego wilka, gatunku, który był na granicy wyginięcia. Metody takie, jak lokalizacje GPS i badania genetyczne pomogły politykom podejmować decyzje redukujące konflikty ludzi ze zwierzętami oraz zapewniające zwierzętom siedliska bez presji oddziaływania człowieka. W rezultacie tych działań populacja wilka w Polsce w ciągu ostatnich 50 lat wzrosła 50-krotnie.

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A grassroots push to save disappearing birds and bees forces change in Germany

Bridget Huber

December 03, 2020 |

National Geographic |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany, Bavaria

Environmental advocates got 1.75 million signatures to change Bavarian farming laws to protect biodiversity. The Save the Bees Campaign calls for using subsidies to nearly triple the amount of organic farming, creating a network of wildlife corridors, and other actions to protect bird and insect life. Initial results show that, since the law took effect, the share of organic farmland increased and thousands of more acres of forest have been protected. Farmers have also adjusted their view of productivity, including protecting nature as a way to be productive. Similar efforts are happening across Europe.

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A Lesson in Learning to Live With Fire, and Each Other

Laura Bliss

November 05, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Shaver Lake, California

A collaboration between former adversaries over forest management and preservation in the Sierra National Forest led to a $9 million investment into making 154,000 acres healthier, and able to withstand destruction in one of the largest wildfires in California history. The Creek Fire largely spared land in the Dinkey Landscape Restoration Project, despite severe damage in hundreds of thousands of adjacent acres. Years of strategic tree-thinning and intentionally set small fires proved effective.

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How AI Can Help Save Forests

Ted Alcorn

November 03, 2020 |

Wall Street Journal |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Sweden

Satellite-based forest monitoring, paired with other sophisticated measures of a forest's health, is transforming the speed, precision, and economics of finding and eradicating infestations and pinpointing acreage where preventing wildfires and deforestation will prove most effective. Rather than rely on ground-based, manual surveys of vast tracts, forest managers are refining their ability to observe more useful data from space. As success stories pile up, however, the science still must rely on the political will to enact needed policies for a healthier climate and forests.

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Colville, Washington Survived the Timber Wars. Now It's Tackling Wildfire

Jake Bullinger

October 23, 2020 |

Bitterroot |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Colville, Washington

A collective of timber companies, conservationists, and forestry professionals has made the adjacent national forest more resilient to wildfires by focusing on small-diameter trees while preserving old growth. In 2019, the Northeast Washington Forest Coalition allowed for the harvesting of 87.1 million board-feet from the forest and 16,561 acres underwent controlled burns and mechanical thinning to mitigate the risk of wildfires. The group’s record of compromise and innovation could offer a blueprint for other areas looking to boost the resilience of fire-prone forests and rural economies.

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Prescribed Burn Associations Are One Answer to California's Megafires

Colleen Hagerty

October 19, 2020 |

Sierra Club |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Prescribed burns are fires set intentionally to reduce the fuel that can make wildfires so large and damaging. Despite the science favoring this approach for healthy ecosystems and fire prevention, government use of the strategy has remained small and stagnant. Local prescribed burn associations (PBAs) have filled some of the gap, educating and training landowners to conduct small-scale burns. PBAs cannot come close to filling the entire need. But they have prevented some disasters while returning fire management to local control, and to ancient native practices before fire suppression became the norm.

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The mangrove forests protecting the Pearl River delta: a photo journey

Katherine Cheng

October 16, 2020 |

China Dialogue |

Photojournalism |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Hong Kong

The Mai Po Nature Reserve in Hong Kong shows how the protection of mangrove forests is possible. These ecosystems are seen as a way to combat the effects of climate change since the forests can help prevent flood damage and store carbon. Yet, urban development, overfishing, and aquaculture pollution continue to threaten the recovery of mangrove forests in this region.

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Ex-logger leads firefighters defending Indonesia's peatlands

Harry Jacques

October 14, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Rawa Mekar Jaya, Riau

An Indonesian government program called Masyarakat Peduli Api, or “Fire Care Community,” aims to improve community responses to wildfires and restore peatlands — valuable ecosystems that store carbon. Through community engagement and education, this volunteer fire brigade patrols the peatlands and addresses small fires before they spread. The program remains underfunded, but residents recognize the importance of their work.

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The Residents Setting California on Fire in Order to Save It

Kate Wheeling

September 30, 2020 |

Future Human |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Fire Forward trains Californians to conduct controlled burns, setting fires to make future wildfires less destructive. With state and federal resources skewed heavily toward suppression of wildfires, the prevention-minded approach of controlled burns – informed by forest management science and inspired by ancient Native American practices – depends on informing and training more people to conduct controlled burns independent of government. Fire Forward's scale makes it more of a demonstration project than an effective response to the overall problem, but it grew during 2020's historic wildfires.

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