Native America Calling: Saving and healing forests

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Monday, November 14, 2022

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Saving and healing forests

A new study by North Carolina State University finds the number of acres destroyed by wildfire in the United States in the past two years is double the number just 30 years ago.

Their researchers point to warmer-than-average surface temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns, which they predict will only get worse. Those trends mean forestry officials have to work both to prevent the most destructive fires and restore areas that burned.

Traditional tribal ecological knowledge can inform that work and some non-tribal officials are taking notice. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce speaks with tribal forestry directors about working with government agencies and the threats facing forests.

A prescribed burn at the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge of Oregon included the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde as a partner in September 2017. Photo: Brent Lawrence / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Region

Guests on Native America Calling

Daniel Denipah (Ohkay Owingeh), forestry director for Santa Clara Pueblo

Tommy Cabe (Eastern Band of Cherokee), forest resource specialist for Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians