Historic agreement affirms tribe’s right to set good fire

Once targeted as arsonists for simply practicing their culture, the Karuk Tribe is leading the way for good fire, last week signing a first-of-its-kind agreement with the State of California under a new law meant to acknowledge tribal sovereignty while helping to build fire and climate resilience across the state.

Karuk Tribe women no longer risk committing a crime for lighting fires that enhance the growth of hazel they use to weave their baby baskets. The tribe can now create clearings in forests using fire, to allow deer and elk freer passage and better forage. Using good fire, they can build large buffers of wildfire-resistant forests around their 120 villages in Northern California, without obtaining permits and environmental reviews.

“Our ancestors’ relationship with fire is sacred intergenerational knowledge passed down since time immemorial,” said Russell “Buster” Atebery, Chairman of the Karuk Tribe, in a press release.

You might have read fear-mongering headlines that proclaim “Trump wants to log your national park.” Just like there’s good fire, there’s such a thing as good logging. The two are often used in tandem for wildfire prevention. The scientific consensus is that forest thinning plus prescribed fire is the most effective way to reduce wildfire severity. Thinning beforehand also significantly increases the safety of prescribed fire, reducing the likelihood it will run out of control. Fix Our Forests aims to expand these existing methods that have proven successful over many decades.3

earthhope.substack.com/p/tribe-cements-right-to-use-fire