- Author: Mary Burich, CLEAR Center
![Cattle grazing](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green/blogfiles/104362small.jpg)
Are cattle a secret weapon for taking on California wildfires?
California's cattle ranchers contribute a significant amount to the region's culture, economy and food supply, but do they also inadvertently help to temper the wildfires that have been plaguing the state? And if so, is it a better alternative – environmentally speaking – to letting grasslands burn?
A new study published in the journal Sustainability delves into the topic, weighing the advantages – and disadvantages – grazing cattle bring to the table. Researchers, including scientists from University of California,...
/h3>- Author: Kara Manke, PhD, UC Berkeley Media Relations
![Scott Stephens stands in the forest](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green/blogfiles/103732small.jpg)
![Three people discuss a prescribed burn while standing in a field](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green/blogfiles/103540small.jpg)
UC ANR among sponsors of 10th International Fire Ecology and Management Congress
Scientists, land managers, educators and students from a variety of organizations worldwide will gather from Dec. 4-8 in Monterey, California for the 10th International Fire Ecology and Management Congress. The conference is hosted by the Association for Fire Ecology in cooperation with the California Fire Science Consortium.
Major sponsors include University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, with the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County as the host tribe. There are more than 25 additional...
/h3>- Author: Kat Kerlin, UC Davis
![Firefighter stands near burning grasses of a prescribed fire](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green/blogfiles/103208small.jpg)
Study highlights 4 strategies to overcome barriers to prescribed fire in the West
Prescribed fire, which mimics natural fire regimes, can help improve forest health and reduce the likelihood of catastrophic wildfire. But this management tool is underused in the fire-prone U.S. West and Baja California, Mexico, due to several barriers.
A paper from the University of California, Davis, pinpoints those obstacles and suggests four key strategies that policymakers and land managers can take to get more “good fire” on the ground in North America's fire-adapted ecosystems. The paper also provides...
/h3>- Author: Mike Hsu
![Emily Jackson, in a Forest Service uniform, stands next to her twin sister Lindsay, in her CAL FIRE uniform](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green/blogfiles/101943small.jpg)
Planning brochure for pets, livestock fills crucial need as fires an increasing threat
With the McKinney Fire creeping closer to Yreka in the summer of 2022, Emily Jackson and her mother potentially faced the enormous task of getting all their goats, chickens, dogs and cats to safety – while Emily's father and twin sister Lindsay were away fighting the fires.
Fortunately, Emily and Lindsay had gained crucial knowledge about evacuating animals through a 4-H service-learning project they helped lead in 2018. A group of eight 4-H youths, ages 14 to 18, had created a “Pet Emergency Evacuation Plan” (PEEP) brochure, aimed at educating their...
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