Farms and Forests Sustainability Project

Our Projects

The Fire Restoration Group was started by Craig Thomas in January, 2019 to promote broad cultural/societal understanding and acceptance of fire as a necessary and natural process in California. As co-founder, former executive director, and conservation director for Sierra Forest Legacy, Craig has decades of experience working to protect and conserve public lands and forests in the Sierra Nevada. The management of fire in California, and the science and ecology that must inform it, are of the highest priority for all sectors of our environment, society and economy. The Fire Restoration Group will continue to provide leadership in this sector.

Suppression of fire as public policy, coupled with misguided forest management practices, have resulted in ecosystems and communities that are increasingly vulnerable to threats from uncontrollable megafires, insects and disease, and climate change. While these threats have left a wake of destruction and fear in our communities, there is much that we can do about it. Fire managed for beneficial use can provide widespread employment and economic opportunities as we build a culture of fire use, and as communities acquire the skills necessary to safely apply fire to make our communities fire resilient again.

Visit the Fire Restoration Group website here. You can also read many of the key fire research and fire policy references here.

Our Mission

The Farms and Forests Sustainability Project seeks to improve human and ecological health, safety, and sustainability relative to farming and forestry as currently practiced in California. We seek to shift policies and practices in these sectors to move our communities forward into a future that is in harmony with the natural world and better able to adapt to the coming changes brought by climate change.

We promote sustainable forestry practices that mimic natural processes, including the restoration of fire's natural role in creating fire-resilient and biologically diverse landscapes in Northern California. Managing fire for beneficial uses means less destructive fires and less smoke over time, and sustainable forests that can adapt to climate change.

We are dedicated to finding and promoting solutions to the impacts of climate change on forests, wildlife, natural resources, farms, and our communities in the Northern California region. Sustainable forestry and agricultural practices are essential elements to increase carbon storage in our soils and trees and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are forcing unprecedented climate change. It is time for a new paradigm for natural resource management that builds resilience to change, that is in harmony with natural processes, and that is sustainable into the future.

We are organized as a charity under the 501 (c) (3) section of the IRS tax code. Contributions to our work are tax deductible.

 

Contact

If you are interested in learning more about our work, please contact us at: contact@farmsandforests.org.