Here’s how we can protect California’s forests from future wildfires

The authors argue that California's forests are overcrowded due to past management and climate warming, increasing wildfire risks. They propose scaling up forest restoration—removing smaller, less fire-resistant trees—to protect biodiversity, secure water supplies, and reduce smoke emissions. To overcome funding bottlenecks, they advocate for public-private partnerships and the monetization of ecological benefits to meet the target of treating 1 million acres per year.

• The U.S. Forest Service manages 20 million acres in California, of which an estimated 6 to 9 million acres require restoration to address threats from past management choices.
• Current forest conditions are characterized by overcrowding and 'ladder fuels'—small trees that allow fire to move from the floor to the canopy—exacerbated by climate warming and a severe drought between 2011 and 2015 that killed over 100 million trees.
• Forest restoration provides multiple benefits beyond wildfire risk reduction, including sustaining carbon storage, increasing water availability for downstream use and hydropower, reducing post-fire erosion, and supporting rural economies.
• Funding is a primary barrier to restoration, as nearly half of the Forest Service's annual budget is consumed by active wildfire fighting. Restoration costs range from US$700 to $4,000 per acre.
• A Shared Stewardship agreement from August 2020 sets a target for California and the Forest Service to treat 1 million acres per year for 10 years, which would cost at least $1 billion annually.

APA

Conklin, R. B. M. (2020). Here’s how we can protect California’s forests from future wildfires. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/restoring-californias-forests-reduce-wildfire-risks/

Chicago

Conklin, Roger Bales, Martha. Here’s how we can protect California’s forests from future wildfires. World Economic Forum, 2020. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/restoring-californias-forests-reduce-wildfire-risks/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Conklin |first1=Roger Bales, Martha |title=Here’s how we can protect California’s forests from future wildfires |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=16 October 2020 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/restoring-californias-forests-reduce-wildfire-risks/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{conklin2020heres, author = {Conklin, Roger Bales, Martha}, title = {{Here’s how we can protect California’s forests from future wildfires}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/restoring-californias-forests-reduce-wildfire-risks/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }