Category Archives: News

Burning to Protect: How Pile Burns Reduce Wildfire Risk in California

California State Parks’ Program, Coordinated with CalFire — Recent Operations Focused in the Santa Cruz Mountains

California State Parks crews are continuing to conduct pile-burning work across the state. The most recent announcement is that they are targeting the Santa Cruz Mountains with pile burns planned across Big Basin Redwoods, Castle Rock, and Henry Cowell (including the Fall Creek unit). Operations are planned, as weather and air-quality windows allow, through April 2026. This is hands-on fuel reduction; not spectacle, not a shortcut, but a deliberate effort to remove the dry wood and brush fuel that can turn a lightning strike or a stray ember into a catastrophic, large-scale, landscape-devouring wildfire.

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Congratulations to Cicely Muldoon, Yosemite National Park’s new Superintendent

Effective November 8, 2020 the National Park Service has moved Cicely Muldoon from acting Superintendent – a position she has held since January, 2020 – to permanent Superintendent of Yosemite National Park.

“Cicely is widely regarded as one of the most outstanding and compassionate leaders across the National Park Service. I’m thrilled to have someone with Cicely’s proven and respected track record leading one of America’s most iconic and complex national parks,” said Margaret Everson, Counselor to the Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt. “Cicely’s track record of building strong relationships with park partners, local communities and elected officials will be invaluable as the National Park Service and Yosemite implement the Great American Outdoors Act.”

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National Park Service Awards $1.9 Million in Grants for the Return of Native American Remains and Sacred Objects

Today the National Park Service announced $1.9 million in indian tribes and museums across the United States to “assist in the consultation, documentation, and repatriation of ancestral remains and cultural items as part of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).

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Nicole Kozicki Recognized Nationally as Wildlife Officer of the Year

Pogue-Elms Wildlife Law Enforcement Officer of the Year

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is proud to announce that Wildlife Officer Nicole Kozicki has been selected as the Pogue-Elms Wildlife Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. The award, which was formally presented to her at the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) annual conference on July 10, is considered their highest honor. Kozicki is also the first female recipient of the award.

CDFW’s Law Enforcement Division selected Kozicki as the 2017 Wildlife Officer of the Year, which led to her nomination for the WAFWA award. Kozicki has honorably represented CDFW in the San Francisco Bay Area and its communities for 27 years.

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CDFW Confirms Presence of Wolf Pack in Lassen County, Collars Adult Wolf

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) biologists have captured and fitted a tracking collar to a female gray wolf in Lassen County, and confirmed that the wolf and her mate have produced at least three pups this year.

During summer and fall 2016, remote trail cameras captured images of two wolves traveling together in Lassen County. There was no evidence they had produced pups at that time. While the female’s origins remain unknown, genetic samples obtained from scat indicated the male wolf originated from Oregon’s Rogue Pack. The famous wolf OR7 is the Rogue Pack’s breeding male.

In early May 2017, partner biologists from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) found evidence of recent wolf presence in the Lassen National Forest.

You can read more about our new wolf pack HERE.