An Interview with Jessica Morse, Deputy Secretary for Forest and Wildland Resilience
by Liz Moore, Communications Committee Chair
Jessica Morse, Deputy Secretary for Forest and Wildland Resilience at the California Natural Resources Agency, states this last series of forest fires shows we are “watching multi-generational crises colliding”. She is fighting for, and working to, achieve forest resilience through science and education.
In 1910 the U.S. Forest Service established a policy to put out all forest fires. The methods used removed the natural function of fire from the ecological framework and were still in use through the 1980’s.
Since the 80’s several forces have been at work – climate change has made fires burn more fiercely but science and experience have shown firefighting efforts must now aim for fire resilience, using tools/equipment to make fires less hot so they burn smaller areas and more slowly.
One important factor – money. In 2018 the State first dedicated “fire resilience” funding of $200 million/year. And in 2021 the State made $1.5 billion dollars available to the three facets of successful fire protection:
· Creation of “resilience fronts” across the forest landscape by thinning out undergrowth so the forest floor burns without fire getting into tree tops and rapidly fueling fire spread;
· “Tactical advantage” creation through networks of fuel breaks to reduce the area on which the fire feeds. Forest fire flames can grow to heights of 150 feet, creating rapid spread. Fuel breaks are now reducing the flames to 15 feet and reducing the speed at which they travel through the forest;
· Working with residents of fire prone areas to “harden” their homes and create defensible space to prevent homes from catching fire, making it easier to protect residents and communities.
Jessica states California has made a dramatic shift to fire resilience with this unprecedented economic investment but we need to put political pressure on the Federal government to match the California funding. She notes that, although 60% of California’s watershed is in the Sierra’s, we have no advocate who lives/represents the Sierra’s to fight for us and earmark money for that effort. Editor’s note: let’s elect Democrats to protect our forests and wildlands.
Jessica Morse joined the California Natural Resources Agency in April 2019. As the Deputy Secretary for Forest and Wildland Resilience, she is working to increase the pace and scale of science-based forest management to restore healthy forests, improve watershed health, protect California's unique ecosystems and make Californians wildfire resilient. Before joining Governor Newsom's administration, Jessica spent nearly ten years in National Security working for the Defense Department, State Department, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Her assignments included a year and a half in Iraq and tours in India, Myanmar, and US Pacific Command. In 2018, Morse ran for U.S. Congress in California's 4th Congressional District in the Sierra Nevada region. Jessica is a fifth generation Northern Californian. She and her family still own and manage their original homestead forestland in the Sierra foothills. An avid backpacker, Jessica has hiked over 500 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. Jessica holds a Masters of Public Affairs from Princeton University and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Principia College.
