Good Fire Ahead: Controlled Burning in the American West

Course description

What causes modern wildfires, and how did they get to be so destructive? This presentation explores the social and political background of wildfires, first showing 100 years of forest management in the United States, followed by a case study of an Indigenous-led project navigating policy challenges in California. Topics covered include wildland fire fighting, fire adapted ecosystems, the wildland-urban interface, defensible space, the timber wars, collaborative management, environmental assessment process, prescribed/controlled burning, and Indigenous knowledge of wildfire. This presentation will also include observations about how wildfires are portrayed in the media, and the implications this has for natural resource policy.