Fire and Forest Ecology
Fire has long been an essential and natural force that has influenced the ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada. Natural and vital ecological functions such as plant regeneration, soil function, nutrient cycling, habitat revitalization, disease control, predator prey dynamics, biological diversity, and vegetation development, have long bee influence by a natural fire regime. After a century of suppressing fires in the Sierra Nevada the forest ecosystems of throughout the range have been altered but fire must still play an important role in the future health of our forests. Focusing on the removal of small woody debris and brush, while protecting the largest most fire-resistant trees, is essential to returning the Sierra to a natural fire cycle, while maintaining the integrity of a healthy forest.
The forests of the Sierra Nevada are dynamic and interconnected ecosystems which depend of proper management to ensure their long-tem protection and restoration. Not only does fire play an important role in this balanced system but so to does a dedication to the protection of sensitive habitats like aquatic and riparian areas. When forest managers make decisions that impact the overall health of an ecosystem or create a situation which threatens the health of a forest, it is important to stand up and correct such ill-conceived proposals. Ensuring that projects which would irreparably harm ecologically rich habitat or change the natural cycles of the forest environment is an essential part of the work that we do.
The forests of the Sierra Nevada provide wildlife habitat, fresh water, biological diversity, and clean air but they also provide opportunities for recreation and employment. The future of Sierra Nevada forests is not with intense resource extraction at its center, but with a new era in which forest communities thrive and depend upon the ecosystem services that our forests provide. The economic value of our forests can be difficult to ascertain but we believe that providing jobs and recreation opportunities can and should work in concert with protecting wildlife habitat and the ecological systems that make the Sierra Nevada so unique and valuable.