Forest Flash: Habitat funding, fuels reduction, and lasting partnerships
In Pacific Forest Trust’s e-newsletter, Forest Flash, we send you the most recent PFT news and updates on forests, clean water, climate, and wildlife, no more than once or twice a month. Subscribe here.
PFT featured in 1% for the Planet annual report
Pacific Forest Trust is proud to be a non-profit partner of 1% for the Planet, a global movement inspiring businesses and individuals to support environmental solutions through annual membership and everyday actions. This year, PFT was featured in their annual report for our groundbreaking climate work.
The report highlights PFT’s longstanding partnership with Harney & Sons Fine Teas, which formed in 2006 as a result of conversations around forests, recreation, watersheds, and climate change. Read the article, which also features PFT’s new collaboration with companies to save critical springs, here.
We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Harney & Sons and our other generous supporters to ensure a climate-safe future.
Board of Forestry passes emergency rule for fuels reduction and community protection
Recently PFT has been deeply involved with the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection as they developed changes to the Emergency Notice for Fuel Hazard Reduction, §1052.4, which the Board adopted on July 18 through an expedited process that allows the new rules to be used later this summer.
PFT’s goal was to ensure that the changes were useful in reducing unnaturally dense fuels while also protecting important ecological values. The rules should result in an outcome that retains the largest trees, which tend to be more fire resilient, and focuses on removing the smaller surface and ladder fuels to improve fire behavior. At PFT’s request, the rules retain large oaks and other hardwoods particularly critical for wildlife. Read PFT’s letter here.
The final rule shares many characteristics with the new forest thinning exemptions approved by the Legislature last year in SB 901, including limiting harvest to trees under 30″ diameter in most circumstances. We were pleased to help lead and expedite the conversation, along with our friends at Sierra Forest Legacy, California Native Plant Society, and the Central Sierra Environmental Resources Center.
Conserving California’s habitat heritage
California has amongst the richest and widest variety of habitats of any state, and Californians have long valued this extraordinary legacy. The Habitat Conservation Fund, established as part of a 1990 wildlife ballot initiative, helps protect this legacy for future generations; however, its funding was poised to sunset after 2020. PFT was very pleased to work with a coalition of organizations that extended the program through 2030 as part of this year’s budget. This commitment of $30M/year will support core efforts at the Wildlife Conservation Board, as well as regional conservancies around California.