Chaparral Wisdom
To celebrate the magic and beauty of Nature & the chaparral
We’re getting ‘Indigenous’ controlled burning all wrong
In Pursuit of Logic: Part I of V
The call by non-Indigenous people to incorporate a romanticized, stereotyped version of Native American fire use is a thinly veiled attempt to appropriate Native culture for the same reason colonial powers have done so in the past — for self-interest or financial gain. In this case, to increase habitat clearance projects and logging operations under the guise of controlling wildfires.
The false “cultural burning was able to prevent large wildfires” narrative, promoted by U.S. Forest Service scientists and others who profit from government wildfire grants, has also had the effect of demonizing nature. Rich, dense vegetation is no longer habitat but, rather, “fuel” that must be removed. This is not just contrary to logic and science but is a threat to wilderness.
The reality, based on multiple studies, is that Indigenous fire was used on a local basis. Most of those places are now under concrete, not miles away in the wildlands that Indigenous people knew so well — wildlands that have yet to be destroyed by us.
The above is our letter to the editor of the Los Angeles Times that was published today in response to an op-ed this past Sunday (7/31/2022)* that promoted prescribed fire in the name of Native Americans. Below is the email we sent directly to the authors of the op-ed, expanding our points further.
Dear Drs. Don Hankins, Scott Stephens, and Ms. Sara A. Clark,
As you are aware, Indigenous fire use is being promoted far in excess and extent to what ever occurred historically. In the name of Native Americans, fire is being applied in plant communities that are already threatened by too much fire, such as chaparral and coastal sage scrub (Scott, this is an issue you have addressed in your own research). And Indigenous Peoples of California, who historically created one of the greatest diversity of cultures on earth, are being lumped together as a simplistic, homogeneous mass that used fire in the same way, everywhere.
We urge you to make mention of these points when you promote Indigenous fire use – points you failed to make in your op-ed on Sunday. Otherwise, California’s native habitats will continue to be compromised and Native Californian culture will be dishonored as has occurred so many times in the past by our species’ greatest liability – hubris.
The Endangered Habitats League and we also addressed these issues in our letters to the editor today in response to your op-ed.
Sincerely,
The California Chaparral Institute
Further discussion of Indigenous fire use, with linked research, can be found on our website here: https://californiachaparral.org/fire/native-americans/
*If you can not access the LA Times op-ed we are addressing, please send us a private email to nature(at)californiachaparral.org and we’ll send you a copy.
Next week’s topic in pursuit of logic: Part II – Invasion of the Alien Brush!
In Pursuit of Logic Part II: Alien Shrubs From Mars
In Pursuit of Logic Part III: When Factual Arguments Fail – Almost Always
In Pursuit of Logic Part IV: Animals and Plants Have the Right to be Left Alone
THE CONCLUSION – In Pursuit of Logic Part V: Science Provides, Wisdom will Lead
How Truth Metastasized Into A Lie – The Fire Suppression Fallacy (Part I)
– The Justification Du Jour to Eliminate Nature –
We are being lied to.
It didn’t start out that way, but as is often the case when money and power are involved, the truth has suffered. And the lie has been crafted to be so compelling, to appear so intuitive, that many of us may have unwittingly contributed to its spread.
Our career as champions of the chaparral began in 2003 in response to the lie. The journey since has been one of pitched battles, political intrigue, and enemies at the gate, but also of inspiring discoveries, triumphs, and friendship. We’re sure you’ve traveled a similar path many times in your life when you have spoken up for yourself, for a friend, or for a cause.
The truth has prevailed in the chaparral, mostly.
- Large, infrequent, high-intensity wildfires are the natural pattern for chaparral. Past fire suppression has not played a role in altering that pattern.
- Chaparral is suffering from too much fire, rather than not enough. And the threat is spreading north.
- Too frequent fires (more than once per 30 years) compromise the chaparral’s biodiversity and can lead to the elimination of the plant community, frequently converting it to non-native grassland.
- Prescribed fire in chaparral typically causes environmental harm, especially in light of a drying landscape due to human-caused climate change.
The climate has changed not only physically, but socially as well. The anti-Nature pitchfork mob we vanquished in San Diego County more than a decade ago has reappeared and is sweeping into the precious wild places we cherish – cool, dense forests, expansive stands of old-growth chaparral, and secret pockets of Great Basin sage. To the mob, all of wild Nature is “overgrown,” full of “fuel”, and waiting to ignite. And they intend to “fix” it.
The fight for the chaparral in southern California was much easier than what we face now. Since humans have never figured out how to squeeze much monetary value from native shrublands, we never had to face entrenched financial interests. But the beautiful montane and episodic chaparral found in forested regions of the state is hated by those who make money and advance careers off timber. Be it legacy lumber companies, new biomass corporations, the US Forest Service, Cal Fire, or researchers who depend on grants that fund forest research, chaparral is seen as a threat to trees. Demonized as ladder fuels, overgrowth, or brush-fields, chaparral that finds itself as part of the forest community, especially post-fire episodic chaparral, is seen as the enemy.
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