The American Prospect
•83% Informative
Since July , the Park Fire has consumed roughly 430,000 acres in the Northern California counties of Butte, Plumas , Shasta , and Tehama .
For thousands of years , indigenous people have set “cultural burns” to improve habitats for creatures like deer, turkey, and quail; eliminate pests, diseases, and invasive species; and help germinate fire-dependent plants like giant sequoia.
Federal environmental policies may actually hamper efforts of states like California that have moved to utilize traditional fire prevention measures.
The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band conducted their first burn in modern times in Pinnacles National Park in 2011 to help cultivate plants used for basketry like valley sedge and deergrass.
The tribal band is equally committed to recovering their ancestral knowledge.
Increasingly frequent and severe wildfires might provide the jolt the public needs to accept prescribed burns.
In 2021 , Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a measure that protects burners from liability.
The law incentivized private landowners and cultural practitioners to conduct prescribed burns.
In 2022 , another bill established a $20 million prescribed fire claims fund.
To access the fund, one must be either a state-certified burn boss or a cultural practitioner.
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