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Professor Gollner testifies to Congress

March 16, 2022 by Michael Gollner

Professor Gollner was invited to testify to the House Oversight Committee on March 16, 2022 addressing federal Wildland Fire policy and mitigation. You can see watch his testimony below. A copy of his statement is also available: Gollner_Testimony and the press release.




Chairman Khanna to Hold Hearing on Wildfire Response with U.S. Forest Service, Environmental Experts and Advocates

Mar 10, 2022
Press Release

Washington, D.C. (March 10, 2022)—On Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Ro Khanna, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, will hold a hearing to examine the urgent need for the federal government to adopt better wildfire preparation measures, and discuss the human toll of wildfires that are becoming larger and more severe due to drought, global warming, and other climate stressors.

 

Forests stretch across approximately one-third of the land in the United States and hold important cultural significance, protect biodiversity, and promote recreation.  Forests also mitigate climate change by sequestering and storing carbon, offsetting approximately 15% of annual U.S. carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

 

While wildfires are an important part of maintaining healthy forest ecosystems, careful prevention work is crucial to mitigating the damage from increasingly dangerous fires.  The hearing will examine several strategies the Forest Service employs to prevent wildfires including prescribed burns, thinning, and commercial logging, as well as the challenges the Forest Service faces, such as a tight budget and an influential commercial logging industry.

 

Allowing Tribes and traditional ecological knowledge-holders to play a leading role in forest management can improve wildfire resilience and protect cultural resources.  The Forest Service increasingly partners with Tribes on restoration projects through the Tribal Relations Program, but challenges persist in securing permits and local support for cultural prescribed burns.

 

This hearing will examine the Forest Service’s efforts and plans to mitigate and respond to wildfires, and hear from experts and environmental advocates, including internationally renowned singer and songwriter Carole King, about the urgent need to adopt better wildfire preparation measures in the face of intensifying fires due to climate change and human development.

 

WHAT:  

 

Subcommittee on Environment hearing entitled, “Fighting Fire with Fire:  Evaluating the Role of Forest Management in Reducing Catastrophic Wildfires”
WHEN: Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET

WHO:    

 

Mr. Randy Moore

Chief, U.S. Forest Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture
 

Ms. Carole King

Celebrated Singer-songwriter, Land Conservation Advocate
 

Ms. Ali Meders-Knight

Mechoopda Tribal Member

Traditional Ecological Knowledge Practitioner

 

Dr. Michael Gollner
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

University of California, Berkeley

Deb Faculty Fellow

Berkeley Fire Research Lab

Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala
Chief Scientist, Wild Heritage
Project of Earth Island Institute

 

Additional witnesses to be announced

WATCH:

A livestream will be available on YouTube and the Committee on Oversight and Reform website.

 

Filed Under: News

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Michael GollnerFollow5,6962,225

Michael Gollner
Retweet on TwitterMichael Gollner Retweeted
22h

The International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS) is delighted to announce that the 14th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science will be held from October 22 – 27, 2023 in Tsukuba, Japan.
Call for papers: https://t.co/iqzdpBxkZW

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Image for the Tweet beginning: The International Association for Fire
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Retweet on TwitterMichael Gollner Retweeted
22 Jun

A key mechanisms of wildfire spread: embers. They are pieces of biomass that are burning and fly long distances aided by wind, landing further away. They can generate spot fires ahead. Embers are also called firebrands. In 1666 London they were called fire drops.

BRIF PINOFRANQUEADO on Twitter

“La lluvia de pavesas es muy característica de los #incendiosforestales de sexta generación y pueden levantar llamas de más de 80m 🔥 Una ...

twitter.com

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22 Jun

True example of fire risks to critical infrastructure. Berkeley is not immune from this, our lines come into campus through Strawberry Canyon and have experienced PSPS before. Campus does not have 100% backup power capability.

Michael Wara@MichaelWWara

Folks may not have heard this but @Stanford is currently closed (for the indefinite future) due to 20acre wildfire that damaged the key @PGE4Me transmission lines that serve campus. I'm sure that the good people of @IBEWlocal1245 are working hard to restore power as we speak...

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Retweet on TwitterMichael Gollner Retweeted
21 Jun

The NJ Pine Barrens is the largest fire-adapted ecosystem in the Northeast and will occasionally see larger fires like this. I’ll be curious to see the fire effects!

TheHotshotWakeUp on Twitter

“New Start: New Jersey The Mullica River Fire. Local resources are telling me they are big boxing this fire. Currently the fire is reported at ...

twitter.com

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Retweet on TwitterMichael Gollner Retweeted
20 Jun

#MullicaRiverFire in New Jersey's Wharton State Forest could become state's largest in 15 years.

Mullica River Fire in New Jersey's Wharton State Forest could become state's largest in 15 years - Wildfire Today

Four miles northeast of Hammonton, NJ

wildfiretoday.com

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