The Sierra Nevada mountain ecosystem have been ravaged by fires in recent years, so a combination of sustainable forestry to reduce fuel loads and ecosystem restoration have reportedly increased the biodiversity and fire resilience in the area.

Nature-based Intervention:

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership invested in nature-based fire mitigation strategies to reduce community fire risks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. These interventions include prescribed burning treatments and targeted and sustainable forestry management to remove hazardous trees which pose direct threats to mountain communities. These interventions are critical for the reduction of the catastrophic wildfire threat posed to local communities and sensitive habitats which has been exacerbated by climate change. These targeted forestry interventions and prescribed fire treatments were implemented on more than 3,100 acres of forests and focused on 4 mountain communities in order to create natural defensible space for fire fighters should another fire threat arise.

Overview of context and outcomes:

The Southern Sierra Nevada mountains in the Western United States is well known for iconic natural areas such as the Yosemite Valley and the giant sequoia groves. In recent years, wildfires have ravaged the Sierra Nevada mountains leading to the loss of tens of millions of trees. Historical policies supporting fire suppression have lead to large fuel loads building up in the forests of the Sierra Nevada and creating the potential for large-scale and catastrophic fires.