Rebuild:LA Episode 032 - California’s Chaparral Could Be Our Best Fire Protection Plan with Richard Halsey of the California Chaparral Institute

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What if saving California’s chaparral ecosystem means we’d be protecting California communities from wildfires? Richard Halsey, the founder of the California Chaparral Institute, says our state’s most abundant biome, chaparral, actually protects our communities from widespread wildfire disasters. And he says the more the state mandates the clearance of native habitats like the chaparral, the more it guarantees that wildfires will destroy communities. Halsey’s decades of fighting for the preservation of natural habitats has found him in court - twice - once in 2004 against the state’s plan to clear hundreds of acres in San Diego County after the Cedar fire, and just recently against CalFire and their plan to clear thousands of acres of wildland throughout the state. He won both lawsuits, but his battle continues. Find out about his fight to save homes from wildfire by saving California’s chaparral.

Resources:

• California Chaparral Institute
• Become a Chaparral Naturalist
• California Chaparral Institute’s Victories in Court
• California Chaparral Institute Home Protection Booklet