Chumash Good Fire Project

For generations, the Chumash People regularly burned vegetation using low-grade fires to increase water runoff into streams, improve habitats for plants and animals, and recycle nutrients. Since the early 1900s, these Indigenous cultural burn practices were largely banned in California due to the state’s regulations around fire management. Fortunately, recent shifts in land management strategies have prompted state and local fire agencies to seek Indigenous knowledge to reestablish these practices that help reduce fire risks and promote healthy ecosystems.

Led by the Santa Ynez Chumash Environmental Office, the Chumash Good Fire Project is building collaboration between fire agencies, land managers, conservation organizations, and Chumash communities to incorporate traditional cultural burning into fire management plans. 

“This project is critical to helping us understand how we can collaborate to apply good fire on the ground,” said Teresa Romero, Environmental Director for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “With CEC’s support, we’ve gathered stakeholder interviews that will help inform where and how we implement Indigenous-led fire management across our landscape to increase long-term ecological resilience and address climate change impacts throughout the Central Coast region.”

Learn more, including about the recently published Good Fire Guidelines, here: www.returngoodfire.org.