“The environment responds, you know?” he said. “You treat a piece of land well, and boy, within a very short period of time, it’s saying, ‘Shit, yeah, well, let’s make this place go,’ you know?

“Though Rollins’ proposal is aimed at decentralizing the department, it would effectively re-centralize the Forest Service by eliminating its nine regional offices, six of which are located in the West.”

“Hatcheries… represent part of society’s bargain for trading salmon streams for Starbucks. And for tribes that have already been subjected to the ongoing trauma of colonization, these salmon nurseries act as a balm for these larger wounds as the slow, difficult work of healing the land unfolds.”

"Burned by the cataclysmic bushfires of 2019, a national park called the Barrington Tops exploded in rare veined doubletail orchids, and now the traditional owners of the lands perform prescribed burns to aid these flowers in flourishing under duress from invasive species."

“See how they’re looking out to the green? Looking out for spot fires? That’s their job “ www.facebook.com/reel/1082533...

“You don’t go and burn all your berries at the same time,” @amycardinal.bsky.social explained. “Indigenous fire management is based on intervals—knowing when patches have been burned, which patches are getting overgrown. It’s not a one-time, one-off approach. It’s ongoing stewardship.”

Women's cultural burning alongside 6 million city dwellers doi.org/10.54760/001...

“To make shared stewardship meaningful, tribes must be allowed to lead within our own homelands. This means entering into long-term agreements that don’t just invite tribal input but are built around tribal vision, tribal priorities, and tribal knowledge… It also means investing in our people.”

McKinley Grove

A Eulogy for Teakettle, by @mhurteau.bsky.social the scientist who first reached out to Tribal crews and encouraged the Sierra-Sequoia Burn Cooperative to engage in the planning for a ~3,800-acre prescribed burn. The place will never be the same, but let’s refocus and re-enter it with cultural fire.

“We see two significant losses on the horizon: the loss of leadership and the loss of an irreplaceable historical archive. …Why should this matter to the public? Because competent resource management depends on expertise built from deep local experience and access to historical information.”

Dirk Charley: “This is where we tie back with our family, our friends… These trade routes are very important to us.” #GarnetFire abc30.com/videoClip/17...

This morning’s #GarnetFire update includes descriptions of strategic firing operations along McKinley Grove Road and preparations for firing in Dinkey Creek Canyon share.watchduty.org/i/61327?ts=1...

Zeke Lunder will interview my friends Bethany Hannah and Scott Scherbinski on The Lookout tomorrow re: the #GarnetFire and Teakettle. the-lookout.org/2025/09/03/t...

The weather forecast is calling for thunderstorms with dry lightning and erratic, gusty winds over the #GarnetFire this afternoon. 😕

Dirk Charley: "If you take care of the forest, you take care of the water. If you do that, you take care of everybody." abc30.com/post/exclusi...

This morning’s #GarnettFire update: “Today’s priorities are to continue line on the road system within the Teakettle Experimental Forest, working very closely to the active fire’s edge to cut off northern spread. However, crews are also widening and improving contingency lines to use if needed.”

Tonight’s #GarnetFire Facebook update: “As the smoke limited fire behavior, firefighters were able to employ strategic firing operations and eliminate significant unburned fuel pockets along the fire’s northern edge in the Teakettle Experimental Area.” fb.watch/BS82mkkxO2/?...

Keep in mind that gathering = land stewardship and is tied to cultural revitalization and economic development. Let’s keep working on the issues around federal recognition and make sure to implement similar programs in other national parks, like Sequoia-Kings Canyon. @michaelwara.bsky.social

Facebook ops update “Most of the 3000-acre growth took place in the Teakettle Experimental Area.” #GarnetFire @mhurteau.bsky.social fb.watch/BRqpVJq-c4/?...

“Yesterday’s growth was primarily under Indian Rock & northeast toward Sawmill Flat and up Rancheria Creek, with the fire spotting a third-to a half mile ahead of itself. Crews have a good plan in place to catch it, but alignment with large drainages with heavy dead vegetation… is a challenge.”

Watch Duty is reporting a five-acre spot fire near the Patterson Mountain repeater, which I assume is the Comm Facility marked on this CalTopo map. First screenshot includes the fire perimeter only, second one includes satellite heat detection. #GarnetFire

Came away from the cooperators meeting today hopeful the IMT can either stop the #GarnetFire where it is at the bottom of Teakettle or conduct firing ops from the control line at the top and let a less intense burn move down the slope w/ less severe effects than if the fire pushed up from below.

We’ve been working to rake big pines over the last couple of years. Some are part of an experimental treatment and the rest as part of a conservation effort. There are some gorgeous trees in there.

I attended the #GarnetFire cooperators meeting today and had a chance to talk with the operations chief. He assured me he was going to do everything he could to keep the fire from advancing further into teakettle, but I don’t know if it will be enough. (1/3) @mhurteau.bsky.social

I play Sirius XM’s Music for Dogs for my three pups when I want them to calm down and it works pretty well. Here’s the thing — I don’t have any cats but I recently discovered Music for Cats and now I want to know why the cats get better music.

The PyreCast model shows continued movement of the #GarnetFire overnight, farther north into the Teakettle Experimental Area. Note Watch Duty’s disclaimer.

Sierra NF post tonight: “Crews on the #garnetfire had a productive day on the fire line today. While some activity was observed on the northern edge, the fire did not grow as much as expected and is still in the lower part of the Teakettle Experimental area.” @mhurteau.bsky.social

I should be sitting in my office unworried about this because of a recently completed 3000 ac prescribed burn. Yet, forest management malpractice means the burn has yet to be completed. If Teakettle cooks off, I’ll be shining a spot light on the individuals responsible.

Evacuation warnings issued for south of the Kings River now. They must be worried about a wind shift pushing the fire over the river. #GarnetFire

This map shows the Garnet Fire about to enter the Teakettle Experimental Area, where the Sierra-Sequoia Burn Cooperative has been collaboratively planning a prescribed burn that would have mitigated many of this wildfire’s impacts.

Thar she blows. “The fire edge is currently slightly south of the Teakettle Experimental Area and will likely burn into the area today.” @mhurteau.bsky.social share.watchduty.org/i/61327?ts=1...

Late summer in Fresno: Hollyleaf cherries are in full fruit and the valley oaks are starting to drop acorns.

This is a good map from the Sierra National Forest — I appreciate the superimposition of all these fires on their recreation map. #GarnetFire #HSRDLightningComplex

I’m hoping this motivates the SNF to support the effort to burn Teakettle. We should already have fire back in that system and the forest would be in much better condition for what may come.

Glad to see the efforts to keep the #GarnetFire out of the Teakettle Forest, one of the last old-growth forest areas in the southern Sierra and the site of a planned, collaborative 3800-acre prescribed burn that will include objectives to steward the area’s black oak orchards. @mhurteau.bsky.social

This one could get more complicated. #GarnetFire

“‘This has been eight years in the making,’ said Goode, reflecting on the intricate journey to bring an age-old tradition back to the forest. ‘It takes patience, understanding and community to make it happen.’” www.fs.usda.gov/r05/sierra/n...

Thinking about the framing of this article and wondering how many historical and cultural sites and resources were inundated by this reservoir. How many communities did the lake destroy? www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...

LOL I googled how to live without AI

If California wants to take over emergency management responsibilities for the country, fine, but they might also want to fund their own local agencies. *stares in LA county*

Acorns are getting harder to find, say some Indigenous harvesters. Story here: www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...

Evacuation is not always the safest option. www.yahoo.com/news/article...

We should attack Millerton and Pine Flat lakes with this kind of artillery.

It was an honour and a pleasure to work on this project with some amazing Indigenous colleagues from Canada, USA and Australia. As a western scientist I gained a new appreciation for the cultural significance of fire. www.ilinationhood.ca/publications...

Indigenous women in forestry: “As knowledge holders, land stewards, educators, and community ambassadors, our contributions are essential. And now is the time to ensure that Native women are empowered to bring that leadership forward — supported, mentored, and seen.” medium.com/@intertribal...

“Cultural fire is culture and location-specific. So instead of a prescriptive approach, each worksheet poses a set of questions and prompts that can be answered collectively.” www.ilinationhood.ca/blog/cultura...

Mired in tactics, need more adaptive strategy