California Forestry
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History
History of California Forests
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For thousands of years before the first Spanish missionaries and American trappers arrived, California's forests were actively managed. The Native American people who lived here used wood from our diverse forests to build and heat their homes and villages. Dugout canoes and ceremonial totem poles were constructed out of suitable logs.
Even apart from the direct influence of people, California's forests have changed and adapted to geological influences over the ages. Alternating periods of glaciation and relative warming have meant that forests themselves have continually shifted between various elevation zones and species compositions. When viewed from the perspective of thousands of years, what we think of as stable forest ecosystems are actually in a state of constant change.
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Fire was the main forest management tool used by California's indigenous people and it served many purposes. In addition to fires sparked by lightning strikes, Native Americans intentionally set fires on a regular basis. Fires were used to fell trees and to create favorable forage for deer and other food sources. Other areas were managed with fire to produce a continuous supply of the grasses necessary to make baskets and other products. These frequent, low intensity burns maintained many California forests in a park-like setting--a sight that amazed the first pioneers crossing the Sierra Nevada. Fire was also used to wage war, to communicate, and to herd game.
Forest managers throughout most of the 20th Century attempted to remove the presence of fire from California's forests and wildlands. Aggressive fire suppression efforts were coupled with a total cessation of traditional Native American burning practices. An unintended consequence is that many forested areas have become increasingly overgrown and vulnerable to unnaturally hot, catastrophic wildfires.
The focus of today's foresters is reverse the trend of fuels buildup and restore a more balanced ecosystem that provides for a healthy environment as well as wood products, wildlife habitat, clean air and water.
Fire--in the form of prescribed burning--has once again become a valuable management tool. But due to public safety and air quality concerns, prescribed fire is best used only after dense, fire-prone forest thickets have received mechanical pre-treatments. Once heavy fuel loads have been reduced, prescribed fire is much safer and creates less pollution.