Developing Indigenous Burning Guidelines

Prescribed fire can help reduce fuel loads in key areas that are safe to burn and where there has been a dearth of fire in the past. Prescribed fire is used as a tool to promote ecological health and reduce fire risk in various parts of the County on private and public land. Globally, there is increasing recognition of the role that indigenous communities played in managing ecosystem health through the judicious use of prescribed fire, but there has been little to no indigenous-led burning here in Santa Barbara County since the mission era. In recognition of the potential role indigenous burning practices could play in the stewardship of local ecosystems and the reduction of wildfire risk, this project proposed to engage key stakeholders to develop guidelines for integrating cultural burning practices into prescribed burning initiatives in the county. The guidelines will address a suite of issues including liability, interagency coordination, where and when indigenous burning and its goals are aligned with fire agency needs and more. Guidelines for indigenous-led burns should include provisions to ensure that the practice would follow the natural fire intervals for native plant communities to avoid type-conversion (e.g., chaparral and coastal sage scrub). This project was a high priority identified through the Climate Resilience Roundtable Series.

Status: Completed

Cost: Low

Partners: Community Environmental Council, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash, LegacyWorks Group

Permitting: New prescribed burn areas not contemplated or analyzed under the California VTP's CEQA programmatic document would require a PSA (Project Specific Analysis) in accordance with CEQA requirements. Coordination with CDFW/USFWS (if a federally-listed species is present) would be needed to assess potential impacts to ESH or species. Coordination and permitting with APCD would also be required.

Funding Sources: Santa Barbara Foundation, Chumash Foundation