2017 Annual Report
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Forest Fire Policy: Change Conventional Thinking of Smoke Management to Prioritize Long-Term Air Quality and Public Health
Author's personal copy Air Qual Atmos Health DOI 10.1007/s11869-016-0405-4 Forest fire policy: change conventional thinking of smoke management to prioritize long-term air quality and public health D. W. Schweizer1 & R. Cisneros1 Received: 31 January 2016 /Accepted: 13 April 2016 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016 Abstract Wildland fire smoke is inevitable. Size and intensity Keywords Widland fire . Air quality . Policy . Public health . of wildland fires are increasing in the western USA. Smoke-free Smoke management skies and public exposure to wildland fire smoke have effective- ly been postponed through suppression. The historic policy of suppression has systematically both instilled a public expecta- Wildland fire has long been understood to perform many ben- tion of a smoke-free environment and deferred emissions eficial ecosystem functions (Kilgore 1981; Stevens et al. through increased forest fuel loads that will lead to an eventual 2014) including helping to maximize carbon sequestration in large spontaneous release. High intensity fire smoke is fire-prone areas (Hurteau et al. 2008). Recurring lower inten- impacting a larger area including high density urban areas. sity wildland fire additionally limits fire spread, reduces fire Policy change has largely attempted to provide the avenue for progression (Parks et al. 2015), and may provide an avenue to increased use of ecologically beneficial fire but allows for control high-severity emissions of smoke (Steel et al. 2015), continued reliance on suppression as a primary tool for a smoke localizing the subsequent health impacts, decreasing exposure averse population. While understanding the essential role of and population at risk. -
Fire Management Lessons Learned – Evolving Fire Management Programs 1
Fire Management Lessons Learned Evolving Fire Management Programs on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky and Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument of California Prepared for U.S. Forest Service Washington Office and Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center By Carol Ewell and David Kerr, with contributions by Scott Williams – Adaptive Management Services Enterprise Team (AMSET) and Frankie Romero and Tim Sexton – U.S. Forest Service November 2013 Fire Management Lessons Learned – Evolving Fire Management Programs 1 Contents Executive Summary…………………………………….………... 3 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5 2. George Washington and Jefferson National Forests……………………………………… 7 Theme 1: Organizational Culture……………………………………………………………… 7 Theme 2: Safety……………………………………………………………………………………..… 19 Theme 3: Economics……………………………………………………………………………..…. 21 Theme 4: Natural Resource Effects and Data Modeling…………………….…….. 22 3. Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument…………..……… 29 Theme 1: Organizational Culture……………………………………………………………… 29 Theme 2: Safety………………………………………………………………………………..……… 40 Theme 3: Economics…………………………………………………………………………..……. 40 Theme 4: Natural Resource Effects and Data Modeling………………………..….. 43 4. National Goals Tie Ecosystem Restoration Together with Fire and Fuel Management…………………………………………………………..………. 47 5. Lessons Learned…………………………………………………………………………………..……….. 48 6. Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………..…….……. 51 7. References……………………………………………………………………………………………..……. -
GSRMA-2019-Annual-Report Final.Pdf
Mission Statement Golden State Risk Management Authority is established for the purpose of providing services and other functions necessary and appropriate for the creation, operation, and maintenance of liability, workers’ compensation, property and other risk pooling and coverage plans for the Member Agencies that are parties hereof, and to provide a forum for discussion, study, development and implementation of recommendations of mutual interest regarding risk pooling and insured programs. 1i GREETINGS! In the late 1970’s, two veteran insurance brokers in Northern California’s Glenn County, faced an insurance market for public entities that was all but non-existent. With few other options available, they envisioned the creation of an organization that would provide superior liability, workers’ compensation, and property/auto coverage to local public agencies at a more competitive cost than the open market. Their “vision” has evolved into what is now Golden State Risk Management Authority (GSRMA.) Over the last 40 years, GSRMA has not only done what its creators intended, but expanded their original vision to include additional coverages such as employee benefits and additional services such as training and risk control. In a testament to the viability of this vision, GSRMA continues to flourish. At the closing of our most current fiscal year, a review of our annual financial reports reflects a very solid year of growth. GSRMA’s strong fiscal position continues to serve the membership well. This is especially important as we start a challenging new phase in public entity risk pooling that will be especially interesting for the risk pooling industry, not only in California, but nationwide as well. -
How the Local Implementation of Air Quality Regulations Affects Wildfire Air Policy
Beyond the Exceptional Events Rule: How the Local Implementation of Air Quality Regulations Affects Wildfire Air Policy Ben Richmond* What can be done about the recent phenomenon of intense wildfire air pollution in the American West? Wildfire science emphasizes the importance of using fire as a natural, regenerative process to maintain forest health and reduce large wildfire air pollution events. But forestry management policy has long emphasized suppressing wildfires, loading forests with fuel and increasing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. As a result, using prescribed fire to restore Western forests and reduce long-term air pollution creates tension with air quality law, because in the short term, prescribed fires will worsen air quality. Despite the exceptional events rule of the Clean Air Act allowing the use of prescribed fire as a wildfire management tool, the local implementation of air quality laws hinders the use of prescribed fire for forest management. Looking to California and more specifically the San Joaquin Valley as a case study, this Note uses new data to show that while land managers and air quality regulators in the San Joaquin Valley have drastically increased their use of prescribed fire, this increase is not sufficient to return the southern Sierra Nevada to a natural fire-adapted ecosystem. Policy makers should pursue even more aggressive options to encourage prescribed fire by modifying the structure of air quality law. Subjecting large wildfires to the requirements of the Clean Air Act would incentivize local air managers to develop plans on how to mitigate the effects of wildfire in the long term. -
Fuel Treatment for Forest Resilience and Climate Mitigation: a Critical Review for Coniferous Forests of California
FUEL TREATMENT FOR FOREST RESILIENCE AND CLIMATE MITIGATION: A CRITICAL REVIEW FOR CONIFEROUS FORESTS OF CALIFORNIA A Report for: California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment Prepared By: Jason J. Moghaddas¹, Gary B. Roller¹, Jonathan W. Long4, David S. Saah1, Max A. Moritz³, Dan T. Stark³, David A. Schmidt¹, Thomas Buchholz¹, Travis J. Freed¹, Erin C. Alvey¹, John S. Gunn² 1 Spatial Informatics Group, LLC 2 Spatial Informatics Group - Natural Assets Laboratory 3 University of California Cooperative Extension 4 USDA Pacific Northwest Research Station DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as the result of work sponsored by the California Natural Resources Agency. It does not necessarily represent the views of the Natural Resources Agency, its employees, or the State of California. The Natural Resources Agency, the State of California, its employees, contractors, and subcontractors make no warrant, expressed or implied, and assume no legal liability for the information in this report; nor does any party represent that the uses of this information will infringe upon privately owned rights. This report has not been approved or disapproved by the Natural Resources Agency nor has the Natural Resources Agency passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the information in this report. Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Governor August 2018 CCCA4-CNRA-2018-017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank Dr. Brandon Collins, Mrs. Kathleen Bagby, and 3 anonymous reviewers for their review of this manuscript. i PREFACE California’s Climate Change Assessments provide a scientific foundation for understanding climate-related vulnerability at the local scale and informing resilience actions. These Assessments contribute to the advancement of science-based policies, plans, and programs to promote effective climate leadership in California. -
Golden State Risk Management Authority
GOLDEN STATE RISK MANAGEMENT AU T H O R I T Y ANNUAL REPORT 2017 Mission Statement “Golden State Risk Management Authority is established for the purpose of providing services and other functions necessary and appropriate for the creation, operation, and maintenance of liability, workers’ compensation, property and other risk pooling and coverage plans for the Member Agencies that are parties hereof, and to provide a forum for discussion, study, development and implementation of recommendations of mutual interest regarding risk pooling and insured programs.” Contents 1 Working for Public Entities Since 1979 2 Mount Shasta2 GSRMA Team 3 Letter to Members 4 2004-2016 Board of Directors Redding 6 Member Agencies – Location 7 Member Agencies – Date Joined 6 10 Member Agency Growth 11 GSRMA Total Assets 1979-2017 12 General Liability and Workers’ RenoCompensation Programs 13 Property and Miscellaneous Coverage Santa Rosa 13 Sacramento15 2016 Employee Benefits Program 17 2016 Loss Prevention & Training San Francisco Oakland 18 CAJPA Accreditation San Jose 19 Actuarial Policy and Program Funding 20 Overview of the Financial Position 24 24 Member Photos Salinas Fresno Mount Whitney Bakerseld Santa Maria CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara Oxnard Los Angeles Huntington Beach Escondido San Diego Fire District Cemetery District Special District School District City & County Lighting the Way for California Public Entities Since 1979 olden State Risk Management Authority (GSRMA) is unique in California risk pools. We cater to small and middle-sized public entities that do not have the resources to fund all the expertise (human resource staff, dedicated legal counsel and even risk management and loss prevention Gpositions) that their larger counterparts can afford. -
An Analysis of Wildland-Urban Fire with Implications for Preventing Structure Ignitions
An Analysis of Wildland-Urban Fire with Implications for Preventing Structure Ignitions Jack Cohen, PhD Research Physical Scientist US Forest Service, retired Abstract Homes and communities exposed to inevitable extreme wildfire conditions do not have to suffer inevitable fire destruction. Research shows that the characteristics of a structure and its immediate surroundings within 30 meters principally determine structure ignitions; this area is called the home ignition zone (HIZ) and defines wildland-urban (WU) fires as a structure ignition problem and not a problem of controlling inevitable wildfires. Instead of failing to control extreme wildfire behavior, an approach of reducing ignition conditions within the HIZ resulting in ignition resistant structures can provide an effective alternative for preventing structure ignitions and thus wildland-urban (WU) fire disasters without necessarily controlling extreme wildfires. Introduction The fire destruction of urban, suburban and exurban development during wildfires has come to be known as the wildland-urban interface (WUI) fire problem. The term and its close variants have been used at least since 1974 (Butler 1974). Although this community fire destruction is initiated by wildfires, structure ignitions are not determined by geographic location; rather, the fire destruction is determined by the ignition conditions of a structure in relation to its immediate surroundings. Hence, the term wildland-urban (WU) fire is used without “interface,” “intermix,” or other geographic references. Further explanation can be found in the “Defining the WU Fire Problem” section below. Recent (1990 to 2017) wildland-urban fire disasters are listed in Table 1; however, destruction of towns and villages associated with wildfires in the United States (U.S.) commonly occurred in the fifty-five to one- hundred years before the term originated (Pyne 1982). -
Situation Reports
Situational Awareness Report - CA Wildfires July 24, 2017 Report ID #: 2017-0724-2345 Provide Feedback on this Report Notice: The information in this report is subject to change and the situation may have evolved since the compiling of this report. Summary There are several wildfires currently burning in California. This report includes information about the following fires: Fire County Comments Page(s) Dewiler Mariposa 60% contained; evacuations in effect 3 High Fire San Bernardino 70% contained; evacuations in effect 4 Whittier Santa Barbara 87% contained; evacuation warnings 5 - 6 Lost San Diego 60% contained 7 Schaeffer Tulare 94% contained 8 Park Fresno 99% contained 9 Long Valley Lassen 100% contained ** 9 Garza Fresno 100% contained ** 10 Alamo San Luis Obispo 100% contained ** 10 Wall Butte 100% contained ** 11 Grade Mendocino 100% contained ** 12 Bridge San Bernardino 100% contained ** 12 ** This is the final brief update for these fires. Additional Wildfire Resource Links are on page 13. Sharing Information with the CRA By sharing information we can gain a better overall understanding of the evolving situation. Please consider sharing with the CRA information about what you are seeing at your locations. You can designate your information as not to be shared further, to be shared on a limited need to know basis (e.g. With local EOCs), or okay to share with members and partners; and whether you want it shared anonymously or sourced. Send situational information to Monika Stoeffl, CRA Executive Director at [email protected]. -
International Association of Wildland Fire
Wikimedia Commons Mirko D’Andrea Brandon Frederick INTERNATIONAL S Y M P O S I U M S PROCEEDINGS mokeThe Marriott Inn & Conference Center University of Maryland University College October 21-24, 2013 Presented by In conjunction with National Wildfire Coordinating Group Smoke Committee & Joint Fire Science Program INTRODUCTION TO THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SMOKE SYMPOSIUM The International Smoke Symposium was held in Hyattsville, Maryland at the University of Maryland University College, USA, October 21-24, 2013. The objective of this symposium was to bring together air quality, fire, and smoke specialists from the research community, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local/state/federal government agencies, tribes, and private practitioners and organizations to discuss the state-of-the-science and state-of-the-applied-science for smoke management and addressing the air quality impacts of wildland fire smoke. This objective was certainly met at this symposium. We had participants from several different organizations; organizations that don’t typically attend conferences about Wildland Fire such as the American Lung Association, NOAA and the EPA. It was our intention to bring these groups together and we were able to do that successfully. Another objective was to broaden our audience by providing the Symposium to a virtual audience. This turned out to be quite successful and we received great feedback from those who participated remotely. In addition, all of the presentations are still available online for those who were unable to attend. It is our intention to have another Smoke Symposium in the future and hope to continue this very important dialogue. The symposium included three workshops that preceded the conference on Monday, October 21st. -
A New Direction for California Wildfire Policy— Working from the Home Outward
A New Direction for California Wildfire Policy— Working from the Home Outward February 11, 2019 Compiled by Douglas Bevington, Forest Director, Environment Now California Program [email protected] A New Direction for California Wildfire Policy— Working from the Home Outward Table of Contents Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................................................3 Introduction by Douglas Bevington .........................................................................................................................................4 Recommendations ..........................................................................................................................................................................7 A More Effective Approach for Preventing Wildland-Urban Fire Disasters by Jack Cohen .............................8 CalFire's 20th Century Fire Suppression Policy is Not Appropriate for a 21st Century Climate by Timothy Ingalsbee ..................................................................................................................................................................10 Common Myths about Forests and Fire by Chad Hanson ............................................................................................12 by Dominick DellaSala ..................................................14 Facts about California Forests, Wildfires, and Carbon Biomass Power is a False Solution by Brian -
Oversight Hearing Committee on Natural Resources U.S
EXPLORING SOLUTIONS TO REDUCE RISKS OF CATASTROPHIC WILD- FIRE AND IMPROVE RESILIENCY OF NATIONAL FORESTS OVERSIGHT HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION Wednesday, September 27, 2017 Serial No. 115–23 Printed for the use of the Committee on Natural Resources ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov or Committee address: http://naturalresources.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 27–027 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Mar 15 2010 11:32 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 J:\115TH CONGRESS\OVERSIGHT & INVESTIGATIONS\09-27-17\27027.TXT DARLEN COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES ROB BISHOP, UT, Chairman RAU´ L M. GRIJALVA, AZ, Ranking Democratic Member Don Young, AK Grace F. Napolitano, CA Chairman Emeritus Madeleine Z. Bordallo, GU Louie Gohmert, TX Jim Costa, CA Vice Chairman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, CNMI Doug Lamborn, CO Niki Tsongas, MA Robert J. Wittman, VA Jared Huffman, CA Tom McClintock, CA Vice Ranking Member Stevan Pearce, NM Alan S. Lowenthal, CA Glenn Thompson, PA Donald S. Beyer, Jr., VA Paul A. Gosar, AZ Norma J. Torres, CA Rau´ l R. Labrador, ID Ruben Gallego, AZ Scott R. Tipton, CO Colleen Hanabusa, HI Doug LaMalfa, CA Nanette Diaz Barraga´n, CA Jeff Denham, CA Darren Soto, FL Paul Cook, CA A. -
2020 Annual Report (PDF)
1i Mission Statement GREETINGS! Golden State Risk Management Authority is established for the purpose of providing services and other functions necessary and appropriate for the creation, operation, and It has been quite the year. maintenance of liability, workers’ compensation, property and other risk pooling and Internationally, Covid-19 has had devastating effect on the world economy and the health coverage plans for the Member Agencies that are parties hereof, and to provide a forum of the general populous. Nationally, we suffered through one of the most acrimonious for discussion, study, development and implementation of recommendations of mutual elections our country has had in over a century. We experienced racial strife, social unrest, interest regarding risk pooling and insured programs. a polarizing national press and a polarized public. Local businesses struggled or even closed for good. Travel plans were canceled, remote working and remote schooling became prevalent. Our way of life became an unending series of disruption and change. Table of Contents In public entity risk management, we are seeing: skyrocketing liability insurance costs due to huge settlements, unfavorable court cases and negative legislation; a difficult property market due to ongoing tragedies such as catastrophic wildfires and major weather events; increased regulation and Now is Our Time to Shine… ....................................................................................... 2 fees; the challenges and unknowns of workplace Covid-19 claims; and overall stress and angst in our governmental Working for California Public Entities since 1979… ............................................... 4 entities. Our Team ..................................................................................................................... 6 So many challenges, at so many levels all in one year. Member Agencies by Location ...........................................................................8 But adversity, with all the pain it brings, can effect positive change.