Environmental leaders, fire practitioners applaud California’s efforts to expand beneficial fire this Fall

Leaders from across California’s environmental, academic, tribal, and regulatory communities are applauding Governor Gavin Newsom’s new executive order to expand the use of beneficial fire as the critical steps necessary to restore ecosystem health, reduce catastrophic wildfire risk, and improve public safety.

The Executive Order builds on years of progress already made following actions outlined in California’s Strategic Plan for Expanding the Use of Beneficial Fire which directs state agencies to strengthen partnerships with tribes and local practitioners, streamline permitting, and expand workforce and training opportunities to safely increase the pace and scale of beneficial fire across the state.

Here’s a snapshot of what leaders across the state are saying about the Governor’s order on beneficial fire:

“For thousands of years, tribal communities have utilized fire to keep our forests healthy. Now we’re following their lead to use safe, controlled fire to protect our communities and restore heath to our environment,” said California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “This is a watershed moment for California as we fully embrace these practices successfully used for centuries to help prevent catastrophic wildfire.”

“Prescribed fires are not just a land management strategy but a time-tested tool to increase biodiversity and reduce the risk of large, destructive wildfires,” said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero. “Thanks to the Governor’s leadership and our many partners, we’re expanding this essential work to make our state’s landscapes healthier for generations to come”.

“Our understanding of the barriers to this work is increasingly nuanced, and you see that reflected in this Executive Order, with impactful tweaks to existing policy and strong agency directives that continue to elevate and prioritize beneficial fire,” said UC ANR Fire Network Program Director and Women-in-Fire Training Exchange (WTREX) Director Lenya Quinn-Davidson “Our practitioner community is grateful to the Governor and his team for their consistent vision and collaboration to expand beneficial fire in California.”

“Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-35-25 is a step forward in California’s wildfire resilience strategy. By expanding the use of beneficial fire, including cultural and prescribed burning, this order ensures CAL FIRE, and our partners can act with greater speed and coordination to reduce hazardous fuels, restore ecological balance, and protect communities across the state,” said Chief Joe Tyler, Director, CAL FIRE. “CAL FIRE remains committed to working together with local agencies, tribal leaders, and environmental partners to implement this vision and safeguard the people and places we serve.”

“Reducing barriers and advancing beneficial fire, including tribally led cultural fire, across California is not only essential to building resilient landscapes in the face of the changing climate, but is also critical for addressing historical wrongs committed against California Native American tribes through the criminalization of cultural fire and ceremonial practices,” said California Natural Resources Agency Deputy Secretary for Tribal Affairs Geneva E. B. Thompson. “Tribes as the original stewards of the land have developed deep place base expertise and Traditional Ecological Knowledge that California lands, plants, and animal species have evolved to rely on. The Governor’s order prioritizes meaningful consultation, access, collaboration, and co-management with tribes, which is critical to restore cultural fire, protect tribal cultural resources and increase the fire management practices all Californians need.”

“The Nature Conservancy applauds the Governor for his leadership on beneficial fire. We deeply appreciate his executive order to expand the use of prescribed and cultural fire to restore forest health,” said The Nature Conservancy Associate Director Michael Jarred. “TNC was the sponsor of SB 926 (Dodd, 2022), which created the prescribed fire claims fund pilot and has supported many efforts to increase the pace and scale of prescribed fire as a solution to the wildfire crisis. Expanding the use of beneficial fire is a key strategy to reduce catastrophic wildfires and restore California’s fire-adapted and fire-dependent ecosystems. TNC looks forward to working with the Administration to implement this critical executive order.”

“Governor Newsom’s Executive Order on beneficial fire reaffirms the State’s commitment to protecting air quality and public health while advancing the strategic use of beneficial fire as a critical tool for wildfire mitigation. California’s 35 local air districts serve as essential partners in the development and implementation of measures that enhance the effectiveness of prescribed and cultural burning practices,” said California Air Pollution Control Officers Association (CAPCOA) Executive Director Tung Le. “The California Air Pollution Control Officers Association (CAPCOA) is honored to collaborate with the Governor’s Office, state and federal agencies, land managers, Native American tribes, and other beneficial fire practitioners in our collective effort to safeguard communities from the devastating impacts of wildfires through approaches that are protective of air quality and public health.”

“The Executive Order takes important steps to further support the application of beneficial fire to help the state achieve multiple outcomes including wildfire risk reduction, biodiversity enhancement, and public health benefits. Specifically, it seeks to streamline and reduce differences in some key regulatory processes for burn permitting and coordination such as air quality permitting,” said CSU Chico Professor and Indigenous Stewardship Network Co-Founder Don Hankins. “The EO calls for greater engagement in tribal consultation and co-management opportunities with state agencies. Collectively, these are needed changes to scale fire maintenance of our landscapes and to provide all burners greater ability to take advantage of more burn opportunities where and when conditions may exist.”

“Through this Executive Order, Governor Newsom is doubling down on the state’s commitment to protect communities and restore landscape resilience through prescribed and cultural burning,” said California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force Director Patrick Wright. “In 2022, California’s Strategic Plan to Expand Beneficial Fire set the stage for the state to address barriers for beneficial fire practitioners. This order builds on our collective progress and identifies the critical next steps to continue scaling up beneficial fire across California.”

“California can’t solve our fire challenge without embracing all forms of beneficial fire,“ said Pacific Forest Trust Vice President of Policy & Incentives Paul Mason. “It’s great to see Governor Newsom elevating collaboration with tribes and community-based Prescribed Burn Associations, while also directing further improvements from the state agencies. This is encouraging progress on a challenging issue.”

“Not only does the Executive Order appropriately frame the critical importance of expanding the use of all forms of beneficial fire across California, it tackles some aspects of state law that were unintentionally interfering with its appropriate and effective use,” said Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP Partner Sara Clark. “I look forward to working with tribes, non-profit organizations, and local agencies to get more good fire on the ground this season.”

“Through Executive Order N-35-25, Governor Newsom has taken important action to break down barriers and facilitate expansion of beneficial fire on a number of fronts spanning permitting efficiency, CAL FIRE and state agency leadership, guidance and support to locally-led efforts, and harnessing partnerships and technology to protect public health,” said The Watershed Research and Training Center Co-Executive Director Nick Goulette. “The Watershed Center is especially excited about working together to manifest the Beneficial Fire Training Network, which promises to bring more, and more diverse hands, into the movement for more beneficial fire in CA.”