Op-Ed: Why forest managers need to team up with Indigenous fire practitioners
LA TimesThis portion of the Goosenest Adaptive Management Area in Northern California had undergone pine thinning and two rounds of broadcast burning before the Antelope fire hit in August 2021. Land managers and cultural fire practitioners intentionally light fires when conditions are such that they can be managed or self-limiting, practices known as prescribed fire and cultural burning. Indigenous practitioners have long known that these place-based fire and land stewardship practices encourage the growth of food and useful plants and offer community protection. Cultural fire practitioners must have the right to engage in fire management activities according to traditional Indigenous law. Our bedrock environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water and Clean Air acts, and the Endangered Species Act, were adopted at a time when fire suppression was at its peak.
History of this topic
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