Removing Gavin Newsom WON’T Fix The Forest Fire Problem In California

Clearly bad management of California was partially to blame for the wildfires in the Palisades that have caused so much destruction.

However, many Californians have been saying that Governor Newsom should be removed, and that this action would solve the wild fire problem. That thinking is completely wrong.

Here is why.

  • 58% of the forest in California are under the control of the Federal governemnt.
  • The Federal government has cut funding to forest service management under both the Biden and Trump administrations.
  • 2020 BBC reported that experts asked if the US Forest Service was devoting enough resources to controlled burning.
  • 2018 NBC reported that the Timber Industry criticized Trump not doing enough.
  • It was also reported that year that majority of the Federal Forest Fires budget had gone to fighting fires and there is little money going to preventing fires in the Federal budget.
  • 2020 Times of San Diego reports that California spends more money on wild fire prevention than the Federal government, although California only owns 3% of the forests in California, while the Federal government owns 58%.
  • 2020 LA Times reports that the Federal Forest Service said they can’t afford fire prevention efforts.

  • While the Palisades fire did start in Topanga Canyon State park – the State owns only 3% of the forests in California.
  • The Palisades fire is now three times larger (as of Jan 20) because it has burned up portions of the Santa Monica National Forest (under the control of the Federal government)
  • IF the Federal government had been doing “fuel reduction” aka “raking the forests”, then the forest fire would not have spread to the size that it is. 2/3rds of the Palisades fire is now on Federal land, despite having started on State land.
  • The overwhelming majority of large forest fires in California were on Federal land for the last 20 years.
  • California had to formally ask the Federal government to prioritize removing brush on the federal land in 2020. (reference)

CONCLUSION:

  • Removing Gavin Newsom may help with how California manages its 3% of forest, but it will have no impact on how the Federal government manages their 58% (or the overwhelming majority of the forests in California) – which the Federal government has spent little money or effort on in the last few years.

REFERENCES:

US West Coast fires: Is Trump right to blame forest management?
14 October 2020 BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46183690

Firstly, most forest in California, Oregon and Washington isn’t the responsibility of the state authorities – in fact, their share of forest land is small.

In California state, the federal government owns nearly 58% of the 33 million acres of forest, according to the state governor’s office. The state itself owns just three per cent, with the rest owned by private individuals or companies or Native American groups.

Federal agencies like the US Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the National Parks Service are responsible for the upkeep of federally-owned land, and as far as private forest land is concerned, it’s up to the owners to manage these areas.

The US Forest Service has been trying to rectify this in recent years through setting fires in what’s called “controlled” or “prescribed” burning.

However, there are questions about whether enough resources are being devoted to this, and if it’s really come too late in the day to prevent major fires.

Majority of California’s forests managed by feds; scientist says mismanagement isn’t to blame
Published November 13, 2018 5:10am PST News KTVU FOX 2

https://www.ktvu.com/news/majority-of-californias-forests-managed-by-feds-scientist-says-mismanagement-isnt-to-blame

On Saturday, Trump tweeted: “There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!,” he added.

In terms of which entity manages the forests in California, the federal government, manages more land than the state of California. The federal government manages 57 percent of the forests in California, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. The state manages 2 percent. Private owners are responsible for 39 percent.

But in the case of the Camp Fire, the massive wildfire that has destroyed 6,500 buildings and killed 29 people, started near or on federal land at the very lower boundary of the Plumas National Forest, an area which mostly shrubland and a bit of pine forest.

California is managing its forests — but is the president managing its federal lands?
Fifty-seven percent of California’s 33 million acres of forest are controlled by the federal government.
Dec. 2, 2018, 4:22 PM PST By James Rainey

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-managing-its-forests-president-managing-its-federal-lands-n942581

Creating solutions is complicated by the array of overseers of wildlands — a tangle of federal, state and local agencies and thousands of private owners.

The irony is that 57 percent of California’s 33 million acres of forest are controlled by the federal government. And even the timber industry, which Trump’s team appears to be trying to support, has slammed the U.S. for investing far too little in the priceless wild space.

Federal forestry officials have said they would like to do more, but much of the agency’s budget has been tied up reacting to fires, rather than trying to prevent them. From 1995 to 2015, the Forest Service went from spending 16 percent to 52 percent of its budget fighting fires, according to the Ecological Society of America, a non-profit that tries to bring science into environmental decision making.

In a 2015 report, the Forest Service conceded that the ever-greater cost of quelling mega-fires had depleted work to “improve the health and resilience of our forested landscapes and mitigate the potential for wildland fire in future years.” Added the timber industry’s Gordon: “A huge part of the problem is … a lack of management of federal land.”

Analysis: Trump’s Wrong—California Does More to Manage Forests Than Feds
by Editor Sept. 23, 2020, 11:15 p.m.

https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2020/09/23/analysis-trumps-wrong-california-does-more-to-manage-forests-than-federal-government/

While more than half of California’s forests fall under federal management, the U.S. Forest Service consistently spends fewer dollars than the state in managing those lands to reduce wildfire risks, a Reuters data analysis reveals.

The relative spending by federal and state forest authorities undermines President Donald Trump’s repeated attempts to blame deadly wildfires on a failure by California to clear its forests of dead wood and other debris.

In fact, the bulk of California’s forest management falls under federal jurisdiction, with the U.S. Forest Service owning 57% of California’s 33 million acres of forests. Yet, for the fiscal year 2020, the agency spent $151 million treating 235,000 acres with practices like controlled burns meant to reduce wildfire risks, according to figures provided by the service.

By contrast, California’s government spent $200 million on forest management work, and oversaw treatment of 393,282 acres of state-run and privately-held land, according to figures provided by the Cal Fire.

As wildfires explode in the West, Forest Service can’t afford prevention efforts by Ann M Philips, LA Times, Oct 21 2020
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-10-21/amid-worsening-wildfires-the-forest-service-is-short-of-funds-and-delaying-fire-prevention-work

Spatial overlap of wildfire and biodiversity in California highlights gap in non‐conifer fire research and management Aug 2021 Kendall Calhoun Melissa Chapman Carmen Tubbesing
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-California-land-cover-composition-with-megafires-in-the-last-20years-displayed-on_fig1_353811416

California federal lands map
https://sierranewsonline.com/yosemite-national-park-is-open-and-not-impacted-by-the-national-forest-closure/ca-federal-land-map/

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