To purchase a hard copy of the Forest & Fire toolkit, email our Forest & Climate Coordinator at alexi@kswild.org.

Forest & Fire Toolkit

The Forest & Fire Toolkit is a “one-stop-shop” of the resources you need to acquaint yourself with forests in the Siskiyou region—a subset of the larger 10 million acre Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion. Our goal is to first provide you with a description of the agencies that manage five million acres of public land and provide oversight on nearly two million acres of private industrial forest land in southern Oregon and northern California. We include invaluable resources on how to take part in federal land management activities and to gain a better understanding of the role of fire in these forests. Most importantly, this is a resource to prepare your family, your home, and your community for a wildfire emergency.  If you want to know more about fire safety in areas outside the scope of this toolkit please go to www.ready.gov/wildfires. 

Why is this important? 

Rural communities are surrounded by public and private industrial forest land, and the decisions made in these forests affect everyone living in the watershed. Forest practices, like thinning near homes and prescribed fire, can help protect communities. Other forest practices, like clearcut logging, can damage watersheds and increase fire hazard. The Siskiyou region is experiencing warmer temperatures, with longer periods of dry weather and drought. Increasing residential development into forestlands places more homes and communities at-risk from wildfire. There is no future free from wildfire, but there are actions we can take to help  prepare for the next one.

The toolkit is geared towards people who are affected by forest management and who have a desire to become involved in the decision making process for our forests. This includes, for example; rural residents, forest workers, landowners, recreationists, and nature-based businesses.

The Forest & Fire Toolkit is part of KS Wild’s ongoing efforts to support community adaptation to wildfires and a changing climate. Many partner organizations contributed to the creation of the toolkit. Many thanks to: Lomakatsi Restoration Project, Smith River Alliance, Firebrand Resiliency Collective, Illinois Valley Community Development Organization, and A Greater Applegate.

 
General Blog Content
2023 Wildfire Season Wrap-Up
2023 Wildfire Season Wrap-Up

With the fire season in the rearview mirror, we offer this recap of the 2023 wildfires in the Klamath-Siskiyou region. Read more about each fire and gain access to resources for your own wildfire safety.

Finding Relief From Wildfire Smoke
Finding Relief From Wildfire Smoke

Wildfires are producing intense smoke this summer that can pose serious health risks. Please protect yourself and those you care for from excessive smoke, especially those that have sensitive respiratory systems. Read our blog post if you want to learn more about smoke resources.

The Importance of Prescribed Burning
The Importance of Prescribed Burning

Prescribed fire can have many benefits. It can reduce fine fuels, brush and small trees and reduce subsequent fire severity. It can help forests become more resilient in the face of climate change. Read more about prescribed fire policy at this KS Wild Blog Post .

New Perspectives on Wildfire Management in Mixed Ownership Landscapes
New Perspectives on Wildfire Management in Mixed Ownership Landscapes

For the second talk in KS Wild’s Summer Speaker Series on Fire Management, Dr. Christopher J. Dunn focused on five key things we need to remember in our fire-prone landscape, and a new method derived from his research that may alter how we fight fires in the future.

Healthy Watersheds, Resilient Forests
Healthy Watersheds, Resilient Forests

Following decades of fire suppression and logging that created dense young forests, a return to ecosystem resiliency requires thinning second-growth plantations, retaining large trees and forest canopy, and returning the role of fire to these fire-dependent forests.

Fire on the Land: A Keystone Ecological Process
Fire on the Land: A Keystone Ecological Process

A suite of species depend on fire for their life cycles. Healthy stands of white and purple Ceanothus burst forth after fire and provide for a suite of pollinators. Knobcone pines love the heat that enables their cones to release seeds. Black- backed woodpeckers thrive by foraging amongst blackened snags. Fire is as necessary as water is to the local forest ecosystem.

Klamath-Siskiyou: forests of Fire
Klamath-Siskiyou: forests of Fire

The forests of the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains are dependent upon fire. For millennia, lightning storms have ignited blazes that sparked the unique plant communities, tree composition and biodiversity that define the region. Our forests are evolved to accommodate the regenerative force of fire. 

 

Toolkit At-A-Glance:

  • How to engage in public land management (page 9)

  • Resources for living with wildfire smoke (page 16)

  • How to create defensible space (page 17)

  • Home hardening tips (page 18)

  • Fire-resistant landscaping (page 19)

  • Wildfire preparedness in riparian areas (page 21)

  • Funding opportunities (page 27)