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Latest News and Actions
February 21, 2013: 2,000 signatures have been gathered on our petition calling on Cal Fire and the California Board of Forestry to retract their proposal to target 38 million acres of habitat for clearance. Please see our press release.
December 17, 2012: We sent an intent to file a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief against the California State Department of Parks and Recreation as a result of their failure to produce documents relating to the destruction of native habitat as part of their so-called "reforestation" project in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. More details can be found here on our webpage Loss in Cuyamaca.
December 12, 2012: CalFire just released their Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for their statewide Vegetation Treatment Program. In short, they are proposing a fivefold increase in their clearance operations. That's FIVE TIMES more habitat cleared in the name of fire protection: 2.4 million acres per decade. The executive summary unfortunately continues to apply the "fire-suppression-has-caused-unnatural-vegetation-build-up" mythos across the entire state, regardless of ecosystem type. We have sent in our detailed comments and you still have time to send in yours. Comment deadline: Feb. 25. To learn more, please go to our HELP! CalFire EIR page.
June 15, 2012: The US Forest Service issues plan to grind up and burn an additional 1,111 acres of chaparral near the town of Pine Valley despite new research that concludes after studying 700,000 addresses that buildings on steep slopes, in Santa Ana wind corridors and in low-density developments intermingled with wild lands were the most likely to have burned during a ten year period. Nearby vegetation was not a big factor in home destruction. For a full description of the research by Dr. Alexandra Syphard, please see our Protecting Your Home page.
June 11, 2012: The Chaparral Institute comments on the US Forest Service 2006 land management plan amendment of 2012. Unfortunately, the USFS mischaracterized the chaparral as a "dull green," "mundane" landscape that impedes the public's enjoyment of the natural landscape. Our letter can be found here.
May 15, 2012: Politics of Fire, The Struggle Between Science and Ideology, was serialized on the Independent Voter Network website. This article was later featured as the lead article in the Chaparral Institute's periodic journal, The Chaparralian.
CHAPARRAL WALKABOUTS
Nothing beats being out in the chaparral to learn about the chaparral. Please consider coming along for a Natural History tour and/or a Chaparral Walkabout sponsored by our partner, Naturalist For You!
