EHL and California Chaparral Institute (CCI) seek to prevent the conversion of native plants to highly flammable weeds.

Back in 2025, EHL and CCI won major CEQA litigation because the California Board of Forestry’s Vegetation Treatment Program (VTP) had failed to analyze the increased danger of removing chaparral and coastal sage scrub and causing replacement with readily ignitable annual grasses. This process is called “type conversion.” Our settlement agreement put in place better practices pending revision of the VTP. 

The new litigation focuses on two problems. First, state fire agencies have not enacted regulations to implement a state law dating to 2018 requiring avoidance of type conversion in a range of projects. Adoption of such regulations is required. 

Secondly, in many cases, even the very weak protections against type conversion in the VTP have been ignored. Local fire agencies have disregarded safeguards and are clearing or burning thousands of acres of coastal sage scrub and chaparral at intervals so short that the habitat will never recover, but will be permanently replaced by weeds. EHL thanks CCI for its diligent research in uncovering and documenting these violations of the VTP.

Science-based fire management will both save beautiful wildlife habitat and keep human communities safer. 

We are represented by the Law Office of Todd T. Cardiff. Copies of the lawsuit are available upon request.