Fuels reduction management and prescribed burns are widely acknowledged as effective means to reduce fire intensity and protect communities. But, such management actions often overlook how these actions impact vulnerable wildlife, plants, and other species and their habitats. These habitats are fire-adapted, as are the species who live there, though they are adapted to low and moderate intensity fire impacts and disturbances.

The way disturbances — such as fire or harvesting activities for fuels reduction — occur on the landscape can have very different impacts on habitats. Supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, this project aims to identify areas where fuels reduction and habitat restoration efforts can create the highest synergies, enabling landscapes to safely accommodate regular fire. We also intend to identify key priority areas to focus fuels reduction for both human and other natural communities.

California’s plants and animals have adapted to specific fire regimes which have shaped critical habitat features like hollow trees for nesting, insect and invertebrate diversity, and understory plants that provide food and cover from predators. Changes in fire frequency and intensity over the past century have significantly altered these habitats, contributing to other management actions such as development, fragmentation and ecosystem simplification that have put many species at risk of extinction.

Focusing initially on Siskiyou County — which has diverse habitats, over 100 species of concern, and vulnerable human communities — PFT is developing a Best Practices Manual for landowners and managers to use in planning and implementing fuel management activities. This manual is designed to complement regulatory requirements and existing fuels management guidance by incorporating habitat restoration needs for vulnerable species, identifying practices that both reduce fire risk and enhance critical habitats.