Fire issues in California's Central Coast Region
Note: This page is currently under construction (4/2/17)
A watershed-related topic examined by the ENVS 560/L Watershed Systems class at CSUMB.
Contents
Summary
The various ecosystems that comprise the central California landscape have adapted to fire over time. As California's population grows, urban expansion into natural areas is becoming more commonplace, creating a higher risk to human life and infrastructure in the event of wildfire. Historically, lightning fires and purposeful ignitions by indigenous tribes ensured rather frequent fires of low to moderate severity. Years of fire suppression, coupled with prolonged drought conditions, however, have changed the fire regime on the Central Coast, yielding a greater challenge when it comes to mitigating fire damage to both ecosystems and human infrastructure.
Location
...Name the smallest watershed (or other applicable region) within which the issue occurs...
Resource/s at stake
...What environmental resource/s are at stake?...
Stakeholders
...Who are the stakeholders in the watershed? e.g. agencies, non-profits, associations...
Laws, policies, & regulations
...What laws, policies, and/or regulations are involved?...
Systems
... What elements of the biophysical system are/were involved?...
Science
...What scientific studies are or would be relevant / already completed?...
Tools
...What analytical (e.g. modeling) tools were or could be used?...
Future research
...What knowledge gaps remain?...
...Suggest a CWSP MS thesis topic that could contribute to the issue...
...Suggest a topic for a hypothetical study that had unlimited resources...
References
...Proust, M. 1901. Poetica nausea. J. Nauseum. pp 1-9999.
Disclaimer
This page may contain student work completed as part of assigned coursework. It may not be accurate. It does not necessary reflect the opinion or policy of CSUMB, its staff, or students.
