Carol Fall is a local landowner and Assistant Chief for the Trinity Center Volunteer Fire Department.
Check the volunteer fire station, is she there? If not, one might find Carol Fall steering the neighborhood elk away from her garden…again. She's a big proponent of enjoying wildlife, but the elk? They can be a bit of a nuisance. It's something Fall is used to: Carol and her husband have managed their forty acres in Trinity County for over thirty years. Speaking with her means glimpsing into Trinity-specific forest management needs; especially those which improve the wildfire resiliency of forests and living spaces. As the Assistant Chief of the Volunteer Fire Department, Fall is an expert in dealing with active fires and their aftermath. But she also wants to find proactive solutions for her community members to carry out before a fire hits.
Beginning in the late 2010s, Trinity County has felt the effects of increased wildfires (see map below). Local support from the Fire Safe Council and Resource Conservation District has been instrumental in assisting with post-fire recovery and providing educational materials. The problem is that sometimes, landowners may not be aware that these resources exist. Fall describes them as people who “want to be doing something, but they're not sure what they can do.” If a landowner doesn't know where to start, it's easy to become overwhelmed.
Fall has also noticed local landowners experiencing apathy due to the sheer amount of forest land that is out of their control. Much of Trinity's forestland belongs to the U.S. Forest Service or private companies, which may discourage landowners from taking action they perceive as insignificant. Fall is quick to correct this sentiment. From her perspective, the numbers game makes prepping for a wildfire even more important. “You have to do the best you can on your property,” she stated. “The Forest Service may not be able to stop a fire…it's a defensive kind of thing.”
Fall acknowledges that implementing forest management activities is not the easiest thing, especially for landowners unfamiliar with creating a management plan, or figuring out the financial side. Therefore, when Fall isn't responding to 3 AM fire station calls, she volunteers her time connecting landowners with educational materials that can start them down the right path.
One resource for landowners is coming straight to Trinity County. Beginning in March 14th, the University of California, Cooperative Extension is hosting an online Forest Stewardship workshop series . Fall served as a series guest speaker in the past, and she describes the series as helpful for landowners who “want to be doing something”- and be sure of their first steps. The workshop covers a wide range of topics, from cost-share programs to forest and fire ecology. Community members in the Trinity cohort will also get hands-on experience through a field day and become eligible for a free site visit from an RPF, CA Certified Burn Boss, or Certified Range Manager.
Fall firmly believes that all forest landowners in Trinity County have an interest in maintaining a healthy, wildfire-resilient landscape. She described the deep interest her community has in the forest: “We're not a desert, or a coastline…Trinity County is forested. If you love Trinity County, you're going to learn a lot about the forest.” She points to examples of the high school forestry team, elementary school field trips to explore the forest ecosystem, and her neighbors' innate curiosity about their own forested property.
Of course, Fall tells me, the end goal is a healthy, resilient forest. “Less bugs, less disease, fewer trees dying due to droughts and more wildlife.” She pauses, then continues,“Except when the elk try to get in my garden!”