Blog - Forest Research and Outreach

Protecting California's forests and building climate-resilient communities and ecosystems requires forest landowners, managers, and natural resource professionals to actively engage in stewardship.

Before he became the director of forest policy for a timber company, John Andersen was working next door to one. During his time as a consulting forester, several family forests Andersen visited were adjacent to parcels of industrial forestland that had undergone upsetting changes.

The new film "California's Watershed Healing" documents the huge benefits that result from restoring forests to healthier densities.

In devastating cases dotting the globe in recent years, climate warming has led to an increase in the number and severity of destructive wildfires. Climate change projections indicate that environmental and economic damage from wildfires will spread and escalate in the years ahead.

Charred land may not look like much at first glance, but a controlled burn can benefit a landscape by rejuvenating the soil, maintaining healthy ecosystems and reducing the impact of future wildfires.