Fire is a natural restorative process that ecosystems in California have adapted to over thousands of years. By clearing dead vegetation and depositing nutrients into the soil, fire stimulates new plant growth, increases biodiversity, and improves wildlife habitat.
Prescribed fires are low-intensity fires that are deliberately set to achieve specific conservation or management goals. Along with invasive species control and habitat improvement, prescribed burns can be used to prevent catastrophic wildfire by reducing dense, hazardous fuels and promoting the growth of fire-adapted native species. Prescribed burns are an extremely effective tool to prevent extreme wildfires and restore historic patterns of fire to our landscapes.
Check out the videos below to see what a prescribed burn looks like in practice!
Prescribed fires are carefully planned and carried out to reduce smoke impacts to nearby communities and ensure safe burning conditions. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, CALFIRE, and local fire departments determine how and when prescribed burning is allowed, and must be consulted with before burning.
Skills: Permitting, conservation on agricultural land, illegal dumping prevention.
Fun Fact: Eagle Scout, former member of the University of California Marching Band, aspiring birder, and a Contra Costa native raised in Southern California.
Ben started working with Contra Costa RCD in January 2017 after receiving two Masters degrees from Indiana University in Natural Resource Management and Environmental Policy following undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley. Ben manages the Voluntary Local Program, the EcoStewards Program, and other conservation programs focused on agricultural lands.
Skills: Rangeland ecology and management, fire ecology, California plant identification, data management and analysis.
Fun Fact: Puts buffalo sauce on everything, is passionate about native plant horticulture, and loves tiny plants and fungi.
Zoë grew up in the South Bay Area, where much of her childhood was spent hiking and exploring the local regional parks with her mom. Having grown up in a wildland urban interface community, Zoë is interested in the impact of wildfire on California ecosystems and communities, and aims to both restore historical fire regimes to Bay Area landscapes as well as promote the equitable allocation of fire preparedness, management, and mitigation resources.
Zoë received degrees in Ecology and Psychology from UC Santa Barbara, where she completed an undergraduate thesis exploring how leaf traits can be used to predict fire severity in Southern California forests. Her passion for wildfire ecology and fondness for Bay Area grassland and oak woodland landscapes led her to pursue a master's degree in Rangeland Management at UC Berkeley, where her studies focused on rangeland plant ecology, wildfire and prescribed fire on rangelands, grazing management, and the ways in which people and the environment influence each other. Zoë looks forward to using her ecological knowledge and her passion for environmental justice in her work managing and utilizing fire with the RCD.
Skills: CA Native Plant Identification, Fire Ecology, Environmental Education, Community Outreach, and ARCGIS and other ESRI services.
Fun Fact: I have a Pitbull puppy who my life revolves around, and am a very passionate SF Giants fan as I love baseball, both watching and playing!
Joe has joined the Contra Costa Resource Conservation District following an undergraduate degree in Forestry and Natural Resources with an emphasis in Fire Ecology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. As an East Bay native, I grew up exploring all around the wonderful natural areas the Bay Area has to offer and I am extremely excited to begin serving my local communities. Before joining the team, I served a separate Americorp term at a local fire department which gave me a great insight into the world of vegetation management, community education, and community engagement. I'm very eager to bring my knowledge and skills to the team, and look forward to educating, supporting, and implementing positive change in and around my home.
