Chaparral Wisdom
To celebrate the magic and beauty of Nature & the chaparral
Appellate Court to Cal Fire – You’re Making the Landscape More Flammable
After twenty years of fighting, Nature and Fire Safety have prevailed
The California Appellate Court ruled in the chaparral’s favor yesterday afternoon in our lawsuit against Cal Fire and their insidious plan to clear millions of acres of native habitat in California.
We won on every point.
- The Board of Forestry (Cal Fire’s boss) abused its discretion.
- The Board failed to address the impact of type conversion of chaparral and sage scrub to non-native, weedy landscapes.
- Cal Fire’s habitat clearance projects will cause type conversion.
- Cal Fire’s habitat clearance projects will increase the flammability of the landscape.
- Cal Fire habitat clearance projects relating to chaparral and sage scrub should be suspended pending further analysis.
- The court agreed our evidence was substantial.
Cal Fire will need to go back and redo their program relating to chaparral and sage scrub and address the risk of type conversion and the increased flammability it will cause. We’ll be there.
Big thanks to Dan Silver of the Endangered Habitats League for his steadfast support throughout it all. When things became bleak, Endangered Habitats League stayed with us on the front lines.
And a thousand Chaparralian hugs to our attorney, Todd Cardiff. His legal talents were obvious from the beginning, but equally important was his belief in the value of Nature.
Here’s the music from the Court of Appeal’s decision
“We conclude the Board’s findings are not supported by substantial evidence, and it was required under CEQA to consider the adverse environmental effects of type conversion most specifically, the increased wildfire danger… By doing so, the Board prejudicially abused its discretion in certifying the Report, requiring reversal of the judgment…
In failing to fully analyze type conversion and to make such written findings, the Board abused its discretion…
To the extent the Board otherwise implies Plaintiffs provided a one-sided recitation of the facts, we disagree…
Plaintiffs argue the lack of a findings leave the public with no understanding of how type conversion will actually be evaluated, mitigated, avoided, or monitored. We agree this error is significant given that it could leave decision makers and residents alike unaware that measures they believe are being taken to reduce fire risk are actually increasing the threat that wildfires will ignite and spread…
We end by noting the irony of the Board’s argument that type conversion, which results in a more flammable landscape, is not a significant impact of prescribed burns when the express goals of the Program are to (1) “treat vegetation that could become fire fuel,” (2) “reduc[e] the likelihood of a ground fire increasing in intensity and helping suppression forces more easily 30 contain a fire,”13 and (3) “reduce risks to life, property, and natural resources by managing the amount and continuity of hazardous vegetative fuels that promote wildland fire.
And finally,
The judgment is reversed. The matter is remanded to the superior court with directions to vacate its denial of the petition for writ of mandate and to enter a new order granting the petition for writ of mandate consistent with the views expressed in this opinion. Such order shall include only those mandates necessary to achieve compliance with CEQA in accord with this opinion. (§ 21168.9, subd. (b).) The court shall further consider whether any specific project should be suspended until the Board takes action to comply with the court’s mandate.“
The entire decision is available here on the court’s website.
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I am shocked but thrilled. Who knew that the robed ones would pay attention to facts! Wonderful work- it’s a win for all of us. Thank you for the work, the time you could have been napping at the beach, the exhaustion you must have endured for all of us and Mother Earth. Be proud and know you’ve achieved the almost impossible. Cheers!
Congratulations on this crucial win! We are all so grateful that you pursued this for so long – decades!! Earth herself is surely smiling on you.
Thank you!
This is long, but may be worth watching by those with the time . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNzxVtYPzwI
Congratulations to all! Thanks for speaking for nature.
Wonderful news!!! Bless you for all your hard work!!!
Amazing. You are heroes!
Agreed, great news!!
Thanks to all the WARRIORS for the earth
Just finished reading through the court’s decision. Both hilarious and frustrating. Frustrating to see that despite how bad CALFIRE’s argument was, they would go to court on that defense. Zero shame. Hilarious because it seemed like the person writing the decision was annoyed by CALFIRE and the consistent and flagrant contradictions in CALFIRE’s arguments that were more or less against themselves, their own scientific reports on chap/coast.sage and type conversion, fire, etc.
Had no clue court decisions could come across so personally and emotional, the writer’s use of ‘irony’, ‘logical gap’, and italics throughout really underlined how much the court was on the side of the evident science. Three cheers for chap, and thank you for your defense. A great way to start the summer.
Hope springs eternal! Like new growth from a Manzanita burl that hasn’t been ripped from the soil. So happy to see your hard work and perseverance paying off. Your efforts are much appreciated.
Congratulations Rick. What a wonderful victory!
Thanks, Irene, for using your real name.
With respect to “Thanks to all the WARRIORS for the earth,” I want to re-emphasize that most folks really are well-intentioned. However, one should never shrink from being a “warrior” WHEN necessary. Ralph Yarborough once told me, when I had suggested threatening a lawsuit, “Son, when you want a man’s cooperation, it’s best not to threaten him.” I’m sure y’all get the crucial distinction. Educate, educate, EDUCATE is one way of approaching it; another is just helping each other UNDERSTAND. There is a BIG difference.
Wonderful News! Thank you for your dedication.
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A ray of sunshine in a time of environmental storms, exacerbated by the current crazies in the White House. Well done, Rick!
THANK YOU, Rick! You are a true superhero!
And a special thanks to those who have assisted in any way to this effort!
My eyes doth water, my heart leaps with joy!
Does this stop mastication too? And “controlled” burning?
Best,
Wayne
No time to rest, however; remember the persistence of hot coals. We should now work even harder WITH those who have been suckered in by that Giant Sucking Sound from remnants of the unaware well-intentioned (“Nine-tenths of the hell being raised in the world is well-intioned!”)
Still more and harder/detailed data are needed.
Well said, Wayne. Your persistence of hot coals is so spot on.
WOW fabulous news! I send huge kudos and infinite gratitude to you for your wisdom and your perseverance. Thank you!!!
Congratulations and thank you!
This is so inspiring! Thanks for pushing through!
Wonderful! Congratulations and Thank you.
Such great news! Congrats!!
Wonderful news!
Wonderful! Thank you for all your work! I shared the post
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Great work! FYI there’s a typo in the timeline on your website, should read 5/30/2025 not 2020.
Thanks! Ah, found it and just corrected the error. Thanks again.