In Lake County, California, and around the world, catastrophic wildfires have caused increasing devastation for numerous communities in recent decades. The buildup of excess vegetation (often referred to as “fuels”) due to over a century of systematic fire suppression and lack of land stewardship are two of the major contributing factors to these catastrophic wildfires. As a result, there has been an increasing focus on fuels management and fuels reduction to reduce wildfire risk, but if this work is not done with care, efforts to reduce fuels can cause immense harm to ecological and cultural resources. In this video we offer an alternative: an ecocultural approach to fuels management. This approach enables us to effectively mitigate wildfire risk while also supporting the health of native plants, wildlife, soil, waterways, and other elements upon which people and all of life depend.
This video was created as part of the Lake County Multi-Tribal Fire Prevention Project. Funding for this project was provided by the CA Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Fire Prevention Program as part of the CA Climate Investments Program.
The primary project partners are Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California, Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians, Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, and the Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance. We would like to thank Galen McCaw and Monica Villavicencio of Overstory Films for videography and video production. Additional footage was provided by Carey Campbell, Alex Roa of Topo Collective, and Wallowa Resources.
©2026 Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance. All rights reserved.
