On October 10th, nearly 500 experts gathered in South Lake Tahoe, CA for the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force’s second Sierra Nevada Regional Meeting. While the Task Force’s first Sierra Nevada Regional Meeting, hosted in September 2022, focused on regional priority setting and economic resilience, this second iteration focused on highlighting successes in cross-jurisdictional collaboration.
After opening remarks and an update from the Task Force’s director, Patrick Wright, the day’s first panel, focused on monitoring, reporting, and assessment efforts, commenced. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s (CAL FIRE) Alan Talhelm and Emily Brodie presented the first version of the Task Force’s Interagency Treatment Dashboard, a platform that tracks completed and ongoing wildfire resilience treatments happening in California across federal and state agencies and private timber companies. MV Eitzel (University of California, Davis) gave an update about the development of the Task Force’s Core Reporting Metrics, and Frank Bigelow discussed CAL FIRE’s Fuels Treatment Effectiveness Dashboard and Reports.
The next panel featured representatives from regional agencies and focused on the successes of collaborative restoration efforts in the Tahoe basin. Rounding out the day were two panels focused on the future of the Sierra Nevada. First, experts discussed projects promoting biodiversity with insightful conversation about federal and state guidance, conservation planning, and the importance of indigenous partnerships. Then, the day’s final panel highlighted projects aiming to create thriving recreation infrastructure to promote rural economies both in California and across the Nevada state line.
To learn more about these innovative collaborative efforts, visit the Task Force website for webinar recordings of the full program.