An historic agreement designed to accelerate efforts to combat wildfires, while also improving and restoring the health of forests, has been reached between Cal Fire and the Bureau of Land Management. Cal Fire forrester, Jonathan Fitch, says they’ve entered a four-and-a-half million dollar contract through a nationwide initiative known as the Good Neighbor Authority. It’ll increase coordination for restoration, fuels reduction, and other related projects, on BLM lands, some of which there are over 17-thousand acres in Nevada County…

click to listen to Jonathan Fitch

By joining forces, Fitch says the agencies can pair similar goals of sometimes separate projects on adjacent and nearby lands. And that will also increase the size and scope of projects…

click to listen to Jonathan Fitch

Cal Fire says the agreement also strives to fortify BLM wildlands against climate stressors, such as drought. It also addresses potential threats posed by insects and fungi, which impact the overall health of natural systems. BLM oversees 15 million acres of public land in California, which is about 15-percent of the state’s total land mass.