Wildfire Education Academy Invites Residents to Join Virtual Session on Current Eastern Sierra Fuels Reduction Treatment and Other Projects

Session 4

MONO COUNTY, Calif. (July 11, 2022) – The fourth session of the Eastern Sierra Council of Governments (ESCOG) Citizen’s Wildfire Education Academy (Academy) will focus on “Current Eastern Sierra Fuels Reduction Treatment and Other Projects.”  The session is scheduled for Monday, July 18th at 6:00pm.

This session will feature guest speaker Janet Hatfield, Forest Health Program Manager for the Whitebark Institute.  Ms. Hatfield will be providing a presentation on the Eastern Sierra Climate & Communities Resilience Project (ESCCRP).  The ESCCRP sets forth to plan for ecological forest restoration on approximately 56,000 acres of Inyo National Forest lands surrounding the Town of Mammoth Lakes.

The ESCCRP aims to intercept the current trajectory of our eastside forests, and return them to more historic densities, a critical step toward ultimately allowing us to return to using fire as a tool for forest health.  This effort will work to make the forested landscapes we love more resilient to anticipated future threats from climate change, which include, high severity fire, extended drought, mass beetle outbreaks and changes in precipitation timing and amounts.  These actions will also work to safeguard the Town of Mammoth Lakes from catastrophic fire events and give emergency firefighting forces tactical options as they continue to encounter increasingly challenging and complex fire scenarios.  Details on the ESCCRP can be accessed here.

Details on the Academy and instructions on how to register for the upcoming session can be accessed here: https://www.eswildfirealliance.org/academy.  All sessions are recorded, and available on-demand following the live event via the Academy’s website.

Organized by ESCOG and sponsored by Mono County, Inyo County, the Town of Mammoth Lakes, Friends of the Inyo, Mammoth Lakes Tourism, the Mono Lake Committee, the Whitebark Institute, Eastern Sierra Land Trust, several Mono County Fire Safe Councils, and others, the Academy is aimed at reducing the anxiety about wildfire, and addressing and responding to the multitude of questions that residents and visitors have about the topic.  The 60–90-minute sessions are held the third Monday of each month at 6:00PM.

ESCOG is an association of city and county governments created to address regional issues. 

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