Environmental Law
Envt'l Law News VOLUME 31, NUMBER 2, FALL/WINTER 2022
Content
- Book Review: Instream and Onshore, Two Authors Dive Into Water Law, Policy and History
- Conservation and Conscious Water Use: Unleashing the Power of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Towards Nonpoint Source and Nontraditional Water Quality Projects
- Editor's Note
- ENVIRONMENTAL LAW SECTION: REFLECTIONS FROM THE 2022 DIVERSITY & INCLUSION FELLOWS
- Inside This Issue
- Message From the Chair
- Responding To Broad Beach: Reconciling Geologic Hazard Abatement With Proposition 218
- SECTION OFFICERS & EDITORIAL BOARD
- The Clean Water Act At Fifty: the Evolution of the Waters of the United States In the Context of the Commerce Clause and Rational Basis Review
- California Cannot Firefight Its Way Out of the Current Forest Health Crisis
CALIFORNIA CANNOT FIREFIGHT ITS WAY OUT OF THE CURRENT FOREST HEALTH CRISIS1
Written by Darcy Brown
Concern is growing over the impacts of catastrophic wildfire in California. Wildfires have increased in size and intensity over the last two decades.2 The 2020 fire season saw five of the six largest incidents in recorded state history burning simultaneously.3 The state government’s response to the ever-increasing threat has been an ever-increasing budget for fire suppression activities.4Frustratingly, it seems that we can’t firefight our way out of this crisis.5
This article provides an overview of recent forest health research, critiques the latest state initiative for streamlining restoration permitting and approval, and offers suggestions for advocates and policymakers who want to see improved ecological resilience in state and private forests in California.
FORESTS ARE THE SOLUTION, NOT THE PROBLEM