The Role of the Secretary in California's Wildfire Initiatives

Jessica Morse is the Deputy Secretary for Forest and Wildland Resilience at the California Natural Resources Agency. Our topic in this episode is wildfires, in particular, megafires. Jessica leads California's statewide response to wildfire resiliency. Since 2019, she has secured billions of dollars for wildfire resilience programs, such as community home hardening, forest fuel management (including healthy thinning and fuel break establishment), and watershed health initiatives.

Jessica coordinates and collaborates with state and local agencies, conservation groups, and public and private stakeholders. She works to streamline collaboration for quick and effective problem-solving, addressing the scale and urgency of the issue. Additionally, she navigates the state legislature's budgetary cycles to secure the necessary funding for these programs. For those living in California or other fire-prone areas, wildfires are one of the ways that climate change feels most tangible, and it's heartening to hear how strongly the state has responded to the escalation of extreme mega fires since 2018.  

In this episode, we cover: 

• [00:00]: Intro
• [02:02]: Jessica's background in war zones and wildfires
• [03:37]: Her run for Congress
• [05:01]: Firsthand experience with the Camp Fire in 2018
• [07:53]: Joining the Newsom administration as Deputy Secretary for Wildfire Resilience
• [09:01]: Overview of California National Resources Agency (CNRA)
• [11:11]: Overview of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)
• [13:50]: The natural and cultural history of forest fire in California
• [16:13]: The legacy of the Forest Service's fire suppression policy
• [18:44]: Compounding crises of clear-cutting, drought, and pests creating mega fire conditions
• [23:02]: The three fronts of wildfire resilience
• [24:04]: Home hardening and community resilience
• [27:06]: Fuel breaks
• [31:34]: Landscape-level resilience
• [34:34]: Fire's impact on soil chemistry and reduction of water storage
• [38:18]: Securing significant funding for CAL Fire
• [46:52]: Scaling workforce development for wildfire projects
• [48:39]: How goats are helping to mitigate wildfires
• [49:45]: Challenges with woody biomass from slash piles
• [54:02]: Overview of California Vegetation Treatment Programmatic Impact Review (Cal VTP) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process
• [58:00]: Streamlining regulations to tackle environmental projects more efficiently
• [59:53]: Collaborating with diverse partners to drive reforestation
• [01:02:05]: Confronting seed shortages and biodiversity loss caused by fires
• [01:03:39]: How to get involved in wildfire mitigation

Recommended Resources:

• Ready for Wildfires website
• CAL FIRE Ready for Wildfire App

Get connected: 
Jessica Morse Twitter / LinkedIn
Cody Simms
MCJ Podcast / Collective

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Episode recorded on May 18, 2023

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant