Growth management and fire management are on the agenda in the State Capitol.

For the past two years, EHL served as “environmental anchor” for the Alliance for Housing and Climate Solutions. We joined housing groups to develop a policy framework for increasing infill and more efficient use of urban land and limiting expansion into fire zones, agricultural lands, and wildlife habitat. A bill incorporating these forward-thinking ideas was later introduced by San Diego Assemblyman Ward. It is now a 2-year bill, which allows an opportunity for refinement and building support. EHL continues to work with the Alliance.

As part of our effort to improve fire management in the state, EHL provided input on a state program to use grazing to reduce invasive, flammable weeds. However, grazing can also do harm if used inappropriately in native habitats. In response to our recommendations, scientific input into guidelines development was incorporated. Our goal is to tailor vegetation management so that it does not harm fragile coastal sage scrub and chaparral and to utilize measures known to be effective in saving homes from wind-driven wildfire.  

For those with long memories, the CEQA lawsuit by filed California Chaparral Institute and EHL against CalFire’s “Vegetation Treatment Program” is finally moving into state court. The program would burn or chop down chaparral and coastal sage scrub on a landscape scale even thought this offers no protection from wind-driven fires and leads to invasion by flammable weeds. We are represented by the firm of DeLano & DeLano.

EHL is also part of the Power in Nature Coalition to advance the State’s “30X30” program to conserve land, and spent a day in Sacramento educating policy-makers on the many benefits of natural systems to people and wildlife.