Blue Mountain Land Trust (BMLT) along with a number of regional partners, will be hosting two virtual film events, The West is Burning and Catching Fire: Prescribed Burning in Northern CA to bring more community attention to National Wildfire Preparedness Month in May. Each summer, as we look to the skies, smoke permeates the region from surrounding wildfires. A number of community partners and federal entities are working together to re-examine human relationships to fire. Join us in exploring the importance of prescribed fire and how the historical use of fire ties to the work moving forward.
On Thursday, May 13th from 6:30-8:30 p.m, BMLT will host the second film event featuring Catching Fire: Prescribed Burning in Northern CA, followed by a panel discussion.
Our Panelists:
John Punches, Extension Forester for Oregon State University - Moderator
Jeff Casey, Bureau of Indian Affairs Umatilla Agency, Fire Management Officer
Andrew Addessi, Supervisory Forester, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s Department of Natural Resources
Kathy McCovey, Archeologist, Karuk Basketweaver, & Cultural Practitioner (in the film)
Wenix Red Elk, Education & Outreach Coordinator, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s Department of Natural Resources
Catching Fire is a full-length documentary telling the compelling story of how a small but committed group of local, tribal, state and federal land managers are bringing back the use of prescribed fire as a tool to protect communities and ecosystems across Northern California. Indigenous people have long understood that humans have a reciprocal relationship with the natural world. Traditional land management included burning to refresh and regenerate food, fiber, and medicinal plants and reduce the risk of more dangerous wildfires. This film examines the use of fire by the Karuk Tribe of California, and the connection between the rise of megafires across the West and the last century of fire suppression. Drawing on interviews with fire scientists, tribal and federal land managers, and fire savvy residents from across northern California, this film provides insight on how our relationship to fire can be restored through strategic use of fire as a powerful management tool.
This film was produced by Will Harling and Jenny Staats in association with Orleans/Somes Bar Fire Safe Council and the Klamath-Salmon Media Collaborative.
Register in advance for this webinar. Be sure to register for the West is Burning event as well.
These virtual film events are hosted in partnership with Blue Mountain Land Trust, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, My Blue Mountains Woodland Partnership, Oregon State University Extension, Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition, Northern Blues Cohesive Strategy Partnership, The Nature Conservancy, and the Umatilla National Forest, part of the Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Be sure to sign up for the West is Burning event.