Forest Futures Salons: Winter/Spring 2025

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:

• • 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

Recap blog coming soon.

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

Spotlight on the Speakers Blog

Read our recap blog series.