Burning Questions about Fire Ecology

In this program, students will explore the importance of prescribed burning in fire-adapted areas like Plumas-Eureka State Park. The history of fire in this region reveals this powerful element’s role in managing a healthy flourishing forest for the future. Cultural burning is a practice that has been used for centuries and is still in practice by the first caretakers of our park, the Indigenous Mountain Maidu. Today our parks staff do prescribed burning, which has much in common, but is different from cultural burning. We will learn about the ecological benefits of both types of fire use on the landscape and what can be done to help prevent mega-fires in our forests.