Climate & Wildfire Institute

CWI is hiring a new Deputy Director of Development to build our fundraising systems from the ground up.?Join our team of innovators and problem-solvers, working at the intersection of policy, practice, and research to accelerate solutions to climate and wildfire. The ideal candidate will leverage 8-10 years of proven development experience, a deep understanding of the foundation environment, and a strong track record of securing funds from private foundations and public agencies to help ensure CWI’s long-term sustainability.? Visit the link below to learn more and apply today: https://lnkd.in/gbN-jEps #climateandwildfire #hiring #joinourteam #developmentdirector #fundraising #funddevelopment #grantwriting #donormanagement #nonprofitleadership #nonprofitjobs #californiajobs #remotework #leadershipexperience #applynow

The passage of Senate Bill (SB) 310, introduced by Senator Bill Dodd, is a step forward for the state, providing clear recognition of the longstanding relationship with fire that many Indigenous communities have and continue to maintain. SB 310 expands the definition of a burn boss to include individuals qualified through the National Wildfire Coordinating Group and authorizes the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency and local air districts to enter into written agreements with federally recognized California Native American Tribes to waive certain state requirements for cultural burns in ancestral territories, among other things. “SB 310 represents an opportunity for California to take a significant step toward healing the relationship between the state, its forests and the Indigenous peoples who have always cared for them,” writes Russell Attebery, chairman of The Karuk Tribe, in a recent CalMatters Commentary. The commentary illustrates the complex relationship between the state’s approach to fire in contrast to Indigenous fire knowledge and stewardship practices, demonstrating how SB 310 provides an opportunity for the state to reconcile and restore those Indigenous practices. At a federal level, The Stewardship Project (TSP), supported by CWI, continues to inform and advance the National Prescribed Fire Act, Fix Our Forests Act, and other policy initiatives aimed at promoting the Tribal right to steward and enabling greater use of Indigenous practices. Read the full commentary: https://lnkd.in/eTmWtYET Learn more about TSP: https://lnkd.in/guABKMqZ #climateandwildfire #sb310 #indigenousstewardship #indigenousknowledge #indigenouspractice #firerestoration #culturalfire #intentionalfire #beneficialfire #karuktribe #calmatters #commentary

Federal environmental policies currently do not, but perhaps should, recognize the unique role and importance of fire in ecosystems. This is the premise of a recent article published by the Association for Fire Ecology. Authored by co-leads of The Stewardship Project, a project of CWI, the article addresses how policies such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the Clean Air Act (CAA), have failed to recognize the important role of beneficial fire in many fire-adapted and fire-dependent ecosystems. Beneficial fire, defined by this article as “prescribed fire, cultural burning, and wildfire managed for resource benefit,” is a critical tool for restoring ecosystem health. “Instead of recognizing beneficial fire as a baseline condition integral to the health of forests, federal statutes and regulations treat beneficial fire use as an agency or human act,” according to the authors, which creates substantial barriers and disincentives to the use of this tool. Realigning these policies to recognize fire as a natural process can help enable fire restoration in fire-dependent and fire-adapted ecosystems, mitigate wildfire risk, and improve ecosystem resilience. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/d4AvHY-z Learn more about The Stewardship Project: https://lnkd.in/guABKMqZ #climateandwildfire #fireecology #federalpolicy #environmentalpolicy #policyreform #beneficialfire #prescribedfire #culturalburning #firerestoration #wildfiremitigation #ecosystemresilience

Several state policy interventions have paved a promising path for wildfire resilience in California this fire season. Last night’s California Climate newsletter, published by POLITICO, showcased the success that prescribed burns and fuel treatments, among other resilience efforts, have brought to recent fires across the state. In the case of the Park Fire, the Cave Vegetation Management Project, a 3,000-acre fuel reduction and prescribed fire project by California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), “slowed the fire enough to give time for people to get out, resulting in zero injuries,” according to POLITICO. In addition to slowing a fire and enabling communities to safely evacuate, these efforts can also provide firefighters and other on-the-ground personnel critical access into a fire. “Not any single agency or group can handle the capacity of work that needs to really get done here in Butte County, and really throughout California,” explains Garrett Sjolund, CAL FIRE Butte Unit Chief, in a video clip linked within the newsletter. Leveraging expertise from practitioners, policymakers, researchers, Tribes, and state and federal agencies from across California, CWI aims to achieve similar success through the Teakettle Prescribed Burn. A project of similar scope and scale, the Teakettle Prescribed Burn is located in the Teakettle Experimental Forest (part of the Sierra National Forest) in an area which largely hasn’t burned since the 1860s and prior to colonization would have burned naturally every 15-20 years. It is one of many collaborative projects across the state working to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire while also restoring natural processes such as fire to our landscapes. Read the full newsletter: https://bit.ly/3XRGzOd Learn more about the Teakettle Prescribed Burn: https://bit.ly/3XQmEz9 Learn more about the Cave Vegetation Management Project: https://bit.ly/4dfjJV8 Funding for the Teakettle Prescribed Burn project was provided by CAL FIRE's Forest Health Program as part of the California Climate Invest Program. Visit our website for more details. #climateandwildfire #californiaclimate #politico #prescribedburn #fueltreatment #wildfireresilience #parkfire #collaboration #capacity #teakettleprescribedburn #teakettleexperimentalforest #sierranationalforest #riskreduction #landscaperestoration #CALFIRE_ForestHealth #CAClimateInvestments

Innovations in technology are not a silver bullet for solving our climate and wildfire challenges. However, they can go a long way in improving one critical facet of these challenges: capacity. Improving capacity for fuel treatment projects is a core objective for Silicon Valley tech companies like Kodama Systems and BurnBot, Inc., according to a recent article by The New York Times. Fuel treatments, such as thinning or prescribed burning, refer to methods used to manage and reduce the amount of flammable material or “fuels” in forests, grasslands, and other ecosystems. Reducing the amount of fuels can help limit the spread and severity of fires, making them less destructive and easier to manage. Kodama Systems is making mechanical thinning operations more efficient by automating machinery, implementing teleoperations, and bolstering remote-site connectivity. BurnBot, on the other hand, is enabling prescribed burns at scale through remote-operated prescribed burning machines. Kodama, BurnBot, and other tech companies are working to scale up fuel treatment efforts so that we can cover more ground more often, before fires even begin. As Kate Dargan Marquis, senior advisor for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's Wildfire Resilience Initiative, explains, “There aren’t enough hands… Where technology can help assist human production capability, it’s really important.” Learn more: https://lnkd.in/edrMjAh4 #climateandwildfire #wildfireprevention #wildfireresilience #climateresilience #climatetech #climateaction #forestmanagement #forestrestoration #fueltreatment #thinning #prescribedburns #techinnovation #siliconvalley

Our very first webinar – “From Software to Satellites: Harnessing Big Data for Wildfire Resilience” – is now live. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend last week’s session. Special thanks to Muon Space's Cathy Olkin and Vibrant Planet's Mike Koontz for an engaging discussion around how easy-to-integrate, low-friction data and radical collaboration across different sectors is critical to meeting our current and future wildfire challenges. Visit our website (www.climateandwildfire.org) or YouTube channel (https://lnkd.in/g7BXs36e) to view the full recording. #climateandwildfire #webinar #virtual #climateresilience #wildfireresilience #wildfiremanagement #data #bigdata #firedata #satellitedata #innovation #radicalcollaboration #muonspace #vibrantplanet

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of our new Executive Director, Marissa Christiansen. Beginning September 3rd, Marissa will assume responsibilities from our Interim Executive Director, Bethany Hannah, as Bethany transitions back to her longstanding role as Deputy Director, Operations & External Affairs, for CWI. Marissa joins us at a pivotal time for the Climate & Wildfire Institute (CWI), bringing a seamless blend of expertise in nonprofit leadership and proven success in strategic planning to steer CWI through its next phase of growth. With decades of experience dedicated to creating a more resilient future, she will build on the foundation that CWI has established at the intersection of climate and wildfire science, policy, and practice. A well-known water leader across Southern California, Marissa brings a wealth of experience tackling complex climate issues to sustain a safe, habitable future for all Californians. Most recently serving as Water Table Director for Water Foundation, she led a national funder collaborative that has pooled more than $500 million in strategic philanthropic investments for an equitable and sustainable water future in the US. Prior to The Water Foundation, Marissa served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Friends of the Los Angeles River, where she led the organization through a high-profile transition and evolved its focus to prioritize climate and equity. She has held various roles in policy, advocacy, and development at XPRIZE, City of Redondo Beach, and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, among others. She currently sits on the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, where she has served since 2021. She earned a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Southern California. Under Marissa’s leadership, CWI will continue to strengthen its presence as a pivotal boundary organization, putting science into action to build climate and wildfire resilience. We look forward to the fresh perspectives, dynamic energy, and visionary leadership she will bring to CWI. Join us in extending a warm welcome to Marissa Christiansen. #climateandwildfire #welcometotheteam #staffannouncement #staffupdate #teamupdate #executivedirector #executiveleadership #nonprofitleadership #leadershiptransition #climateresilience #wildfireresilience #climatechange #science #policy #practice

Last call to register for this week’s webinar – “From Software to Satellites: Harnessing Big Data for Wildfire Resilience” – on Wednesday, 8/28 at 10 AM PT. From Muon Space's FireSat constellation to Vibrant Planet's Land Tender software, there’s immense investment happening right now to drive forward industry-leading solutions that will ease efforts to improve wildfire resilience on-the-ground. Join our webinar to learn more about how two industry experts – Dr. Cathy Olkin, VP of Infrared Missions and Data at Muon Space, and Dr. Mike Koontz, Lead Scientist, Ecological Modeling & Climate Change at Vibrant Planet – are navigating the successes and challenges of managing and sharing big data and technology across local, national, and global scales. Register here: https://lnkd.in/e6Uttshr #climateandwildfire #software #satellites #bigdata #wildfireresilience #muonspace #firesat #vibrantplanet #landtender #technology #solutions #industryknowledge #webinar #virtual

A hotter, drier climate not only impacts the frequency and severity of wildfires, but also impacts a slew of other consequences we may often overlook. Solar power generation, for example, is easily hindered by wildfire smoke, as illustrated by a recent article in Reuters last month. “In addition to being hampered by hazy air that blocks some of the sun's rays before they can be converted to electricity within the panels, solar farms can also be affected by ash and dust coatings and can sometimes be destroyed directly by fires,” the article states. From July 12-15, average solar generation slumped to around 6,350 MWh due to thick haze, which marked a roughly 23% drop from the July 1-10 average and was also below the same days in 2023, according to Reuters. To make up for the solar setback, California Independent System Operator (CAISO) power firms increased natural gas-fired generation by around 10% during July 12-15 from the July 1-10 average, but then lowered gas output again once solar output rebounded. From intense wildfires to diminished solar production, many facets of our new climate reality are intertwined. As these impacts intensify, we must continue to prioritize science-backed approaches that reduce both direct and indirect consequences of catastrophic wildfires and smoke and improve our climate resilience. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dPjfcWB3 #climateandwildfire #climate #wildfire #smoke #solar #solarpower #solarenergy #renewableenergy #wildfireimpacts #climateimpacts #climatechange #climateadaptation #climateresilience

Have you heard? CWI is hosting its very first webinar on wildfire data and technology later this month. “From Software to Satellites: Harnessing Big Data for Wildfire Resilience” will address how we can harness the power of big data to optimize wildfire management and response, while also responsible sharing and maintaining equitable access to information. Moderated by CWI, the one-hour webinar will feature a panel discussion with Dr. Cathy Olkin, VP of Infrared Missions and Data at Muon Space, and Dr. Michael Koontz, Lead Scientist, Ecological Modeling & Climate Change at Vibrant Planet. Tune in on Wednesday, August 28th at 10 AM PT to learn more about Vibrant Planet’s Land Tender software, Muon Space’s newly-announced FireSat Constellation, and other innovative solutions shaping the future of wildfire resilience across the nation. Register here: https://lnkd.in/e6Uttshr #climateandwildfire #webinar #data #technology #solutions #bigdata #responsibledata #equitabledata #wildfiremanagement #wildfireresponse #wildfireresilience #muonspace #vibrantplanet #landtender #firesat