The Climate Science Alliance team and multiple partners joined over 500 attendees in-person and virtually for the 2024 Southern California Regional Meeting of the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force on April 4-5th, contributing to important discussions on cultural burning, co-stewardship, and wildfire resilience.
The Climate Science Alliance joined the 2024 California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force's second Southern California Regional Meeting at San Diego Zoo Safari Park on Kumeyaay Lands in Escondido, California on April 4-5th.
The meeting gathered local, state, and federal leaders and partners to discuss updates on projects that focus on creating collaborative and innovative efforts to face the challenges of wildfire management on local and regional levels. Over 300 people attended in person, and over 200 joined the conversation online.
The Climate Science Alliance team shared our work in partnership building and highlighted the systematic barriers that impact Tribal sovereignty and traditional burning practices in Tribal communities throughout Southern California at the resources fair and through participation in a panel.
At the resource fair 20+ organizations, agencies and other community groups shared resources about wildfire management as we all came together over our shared passion for the California ecosystem. We talked with attendees about many of our land stewardship programs including the Indigenous Fire, Forestry, and Fuels Crew project and the Southern California Montane Forests Climate-Informed Conservation Strategy project. Alliance Advisor Dr. Megan Jennings from San Diego State University presented her work on the Southern Montane Forests Conservation strategy in the panel discussion, Southern California’s Unique Landscapes and Challenges.
The Climate Science Alliance moderated and participated in the panel entitled Cultural Fire and Indigenous Stewardship, which brought great discussion about the important role of collaboration between multiple stakeholders in wildfire management. The panel opened with an extended trailer of MAATHAAW: The Fire Within Us, the Indigenous-led research documentary by Condor Visual Media that documents the cultural, emotional, and scientific relationship of Southern California Tribes with the gift of fire.
If you wanted to attend the meeting, but missed it—you can view the panel discussion recordings below. See the full recap here.