Forests and Climate
Protecting Homes and Communities – Part 3: Navigating Wildfire Risk
This blog is part of a three-part series breaking down steps you can take to protect your home before and…
Forest Futures Salons
Forest Futures Salons: Winter/Spring 2025
Stewarding Our Collective Home
Our Forest Futures Salons feature storytelling from local leaders, encouraging participants to think about what it means to protect our region’s natural resources and steward our collective home. These gatherings provide community education around current topics in TTCF’s Forest Futures Impact Strategy and develop readiness for opportunities. They also plant the seeds of action and build discourse for addressing regional challenges.
Previous topics have included wildfire mitigation strategies, approaches to forest restoration, opportunities for utilization of hazardous forest waste materials, workforce development, and more. Check out recordings of past events below.
Salons are always free to attend and include refreshments and networking.
Working in the Woods: Jobs in Forests, Fires, and Wood Innovation
- Thursday, May 22, 2025
- 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
- Steve Randall Community Recreation Center, Rooms 3 & 4 – 10981 Truckee Way Truckee, CA 96161
- Register here.
Restoring health to Sierra forests is a big job. This salon highlights what kinds of careers are available in a growing forest economy – from fire mitigation to forestry to making wood and biomass into innovative products. Our speakers discuss not only emerging career pathways, but also what forest-based work could mean for a diversified and resilient local economy. For those looking to call the forest their office, those interested in supporting the workforce of tomorrow, or those who want to explore economic pathways towards a stronger Tahoe Truckee – join us in a conversation about win-win solutions for local jobs and our forests.
Speakers: Courtney Cagle, Foundation for California Community Colleges | Kristin York, Sierra Business Council | Lydell Wyatt, Washoe Tribe of CA / NV | Melissa Mohler, Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships
Previous Salons in this Series
Previous Salons in this Series
When Fire Helps: Scaling Prescribed Burning Across the Sierra
- Thursday, April 24, 2025
- 5:30-7:00 pm
- Tahoe Donner Lodge: 12850 Northwoods Blvd. Truckee, CA 96161
- Register here.
In-person, free, and open to the public upon registration. Space is limited. Refreshments will be provided
Sierra forests once burned regularly. Naturally occurring and human-managed fires knocked back brush and dead trees, released seeds, and prevented catastrophic burns from destroying ecosystems. After decades of fire suppression and ecological disruption, our forests are severely overcrowded and ready for dangerous ignition. In this salon, we will hear about prospects for returning beneficial fire to the land – and what impacts this has for forest health and community protection – from local fire and forestry professionals as well as tribal representatives revitalizing cultural burning practices.
Speakers:
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- Colleen Rossier, Senior Research and Policy Advisor, Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resource
- April Shackleford, Forest Fuels Manager, North Tahoe Fire Protection District
- Kyle Tabor-Cooper, Washoe Environmental Protection Department
Wood Innovations: Building a Regenerative Sierra Economy through Forest Restoration
- Thursday, March 27
- 5:30-7:00 pm
- Sierra College
- 11001 College Trail, Truckee, CA 96161
- Registration is closed.
Free and open to the public upon registration. Space is limited. Refreshments will be provided.
We can’t restore healthy and fire-resilient forests in the Tahoe Truckee region without facing a critical bottleneck: a lack of places that can process felled timber and other hazardous material thinned from the woods.
In this salon, we will explore how this challenge can be turned into an opportunity – creating new wood-processing infrastructure, innovations, and jobs that can diversify and strengthen our local economy while simultaneously fueling forest health. Our speakers highlight entrepreneurial timber and biomass solutions in the Sierra and how these can support a range of community benefits, from soil health to fire-resilient construction to green energy.
Presenters:
- Jared Deck, Placer County Department of Public Works
- Mike Geary, Northstar Community Services District
- Dr. Paul Mayencourt, UC Berkeley Faculty, Architecture and Forestry
Previous Salons in this Series
Previous Salons in this Series
Taking Care of Our Home: Stewarding Tahoe Truckee for Healthy Forest Ecosystems and Strong Communities
- Thursday, February 27
- 5:30-7:00 pm
- CoffeeBar Bakery
- 12047 Donner Pass Rd, Truckee, CA 96161
- Registration is closed.
Free and open to the public upon registration. Space is limited. Refreshments will be provided.
In a time of unprecedented and growing wildfire risks, taking care of our forests is more important than ever. But what does this actually entail? In this salon, we will feature an array of speakers exploring the meaning of stewardship: from climate action to ecological protection, from community engagement to Indigenous values. Our speakers underscore the urgency of restoring Tahoe’s wooded ecosystems for reasons both local and global – and illuminate how our well-being is intimately tied to that of our forests.
Presenters:
- Anna Klovstad, Vice Mayor of Truckee
- Eric Horntvedt, Wildfire Prevention Manager at Truckee Fire Protection District
- Lydell Wyatt, Tahoe Liaison of the Washoe Tribe
- Mayumi Peacock, Publisher of Moonshine Ink
- Will Richardson, Executive Director of Tahoe Institute for Natural Sciences
Previous Salons
November 29, 2023 | Prescribed Fire: What, Why and How? | Watch the Recording
September 12, 2023 | Woody Biomass Utilization for Healthier Forests: Local Solutions in Development | Watch the Recording
12 de septiembre de 2023 | El uso de la biomasa leñosa para obtener bosques más saludables | Mira la grabación
August 17, 2023 | What is a Community Wildfire Protection Plan? | Watch the Recording
17 de agosto de 2023 | Los Planes de Protección Contra Los Incendios Forestales | Mira la grabación
June 28, 2023 | Preparing for the 2023 Wildfire Season: Winter weather impacts and an introduction to the Tahoe Truckee COAD | Watch the Recording
28 de junio de 2023| Preparándose para la temporada de incendios forestales de 2023: Impactos del clima invernal e introducción al COAD de Tahoe Truckee | Mira la grabación
April 26, 2023 | Historic and Current Approaches to Forest and Fire Management | Watch the Recording
February 22, 2023 | Forestry Workforce Summit Recap | Watch the Recording
November 17, 2022 | Recap of 2022 Fire Season | Watch the Recording
October 26, 2022 | Forest Resilience Resources for the Tahoe Truckee Community | Watch the Recording
September 22, 2022 | Forestry Workforce Development Challenges and Opportunities | Watch the Recording
June 9, 2022| Evacuation Preparedness | Watch the Recording
9 de Junio | Prepararse para una evacuación | Mira la Grabación
April 21, 2022 | An Overview on the “Safer From Wildfires” Insurance Program | Watch the Recording
March 2, 2022 | Weather Impacts on Wildfire Risk & Recovery| Watch the Recording
January 26, 2022 | Cultural Burning & Prescribed Fire | Watch the Recording
December 1, 2021 | Reducing the Threat of the 2022 Fire Season | Watch the Recording
Recent Forest Futures Updates
Forests and Climate
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This blog is part of a three-part series breaking down steps you can take to protect your home before and…
Forests and Climate
Protecting Homes and Communities – Part 1: Building Community Resilience
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