Jared Dahl Aldern
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jdaldern.bsky.social
Jared Dahl Aldern
@jdaldern.bsky.social
2.2K followers 940 following 890 posts
Co-lead of the Sierra-Sequoia Burn Cooperative, a partnership of four California Native American Tribes and other landowners, fire practitioners, and researchers. Co-editor of a fire anthology forthcoming from Oregon State University Press, spring 2026.
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jdaldern.bsky.social
Burning down to the creek, 2023
Smoke rises from a stand of conifers. A few low flames are visible between the trees. A creek bends through the foreground.
November 6, 2025 at 9:41 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Had a great visit to Teakettle. We can bring it back.
Trees and shrubs, some scorched, others green Lots of scorched trees and shrubs Black oak seedlings in the space between two boulders Closeup of a new soaproot sprout
October 26, 2025 at 3:29 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Spent a few days in beautiful Tulare County, where I saw, heard, and got to do some amazing things
A group of people gathered in a fuel break adjacent to sequoia trees to discuss fire and sequoia conservation Massive bunch of elderberries Yours truly happily helping out at a cultural burn
October 15, 2025 at 3:45 AM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Excellent graphic from the Grist article
Images showing various treatments, accompanied by the following text: How to Burn a Forest (Intentionally) Prescribed burns are essential to protecting forests from megafires, scientists say. But you usually have to reduce the flammable fuels first. THINNING: Cutting down some trees and not others. Reduces forest density so it can be better managed by prescribed (intentional) fire. Suitable for landscapes with big "saw logs" that can be sold and for dense post-fire forests. Cost: About $4,000/acre or $15,000/day, depending on equipment. MASTICATION: A machine chews up vegetation. Another way of reducing fuel density before broadcast burns, especially with trees that can't be sold. Suitable for brushy landscapes. Costs cannot be recovered. Cost: $2,000-$3,000/acre. BROADCAST BURNS: Intentional fire that burns along the forest floor safely. Removes fuel to tame future wildfires. High-risk, because it can escape, and hard to schedule. Highest impact and provides greatest ecological benefit to forests. But often first requires thinning, mastication, or logging. Cost: $800-$4,000/acre. Also being affected by the current market. PILE BURNS: People with chainsaws cut down vegetation, pile it, and burn it. Low-risk and helps remove fuels, but many say it lacks the ecological benefits of broadcast burning. Cost: $800-$8,000/acre. Demand and a glut of funding have distorted the market.
October 7, 2025 at 1:34 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
“Hellexico,” one of my old hangouts 😂
Map of cultural regions of the United States. Source: map porn on Facebook. The area around eastern San Diego county, imperial county, and Yuma is labeled “Hellexico.”
October 4, 2025 at 10:07 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Watch Duty is reporting a five-acre spot fire near the Patterson Mountain repeater, which I assume is the Comm Facility marked on this CalTopo map. First screenshot includes the fire perimeter only, second one includes satellite heat detection. #GarnetFire
No indication of Watch Duty's reported spot fire on this Cal Topo map. No indication of Watch Duty's reported spot fire on this Cal Topo map.
September 1, 2025 at 12:18 AM
jdaldern.bsky.social
I attended the #GarnetFire cooperators meeting today and had a chance to talk with the operations chief. He assured me he was going to do everything he could to keep the fire from advancing further into teakettle, but I don’t know if it will be enough. (1/3) @mhurteau.bsky.social
Garnet fire operations map showing the northern fire perimeter along the southern edge of the Teakettle Experimental Area
August 30, 2025 at 7:26 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
The PyreCast model shows continued movement of the #GarnetFire overnight, farther north into the Teakettle Experimental Area. Note Watch Duty’s disclaimer.
Screenshot of Watch Duty’s map of the Garnet Fire with purple and blue areas indicating the PyreCast model’s predicted growth of the fire between 3:19 AM and 7:04 AM this morning. Watch Duty’s disclaimer: “Models are experimental, use dynamic inputs, and do not factor in suppression activities. Models are produced by the attributed provider. Watch Duty makes no warranties as to their timeliness, completeness, or accuracy.”
August 29, 2025 at 1:46 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
This map shows the Garnet Fire about to enter the Teakettle Experimental Area, where the Sierra-Sequoia Burn Cooperative has been collaboratively planning a prescribed burn that would have mitigated many of this wildfire’s impacts.
Map showing the Garnet Fire area and the boundaries of Sierra National Forest closure.
August 28, 2025 at 5:50 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Late summer in Fresno: Hollyleaf cherries are in full fruit and the valley oaks are starting to drop acorns.
View up into a big holly leaf cherry tree (in SoCal they usually grow as much smaller shrubs!) with lots of bright red fruit Deep-brown acorn on the ground
August 28, 2025 at 3:53 AM
jdaldern.bsky.social
This is a good map from the Sierra National Forest — I appreciate the superimposition of all these fires on their recreation map. #GarnetFire #HSRDLightningComplex
August 28, 2025 at 2:14 AM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Glad to see the efforts to keep the #GarnetFire out of the Teakettle Forest, one of the last old-growth forest areas in the southern Sierra and the site of a planned, collaborative 3800-acre prescribed burn that will include objectives to steward the area’s black oak orchards. @mhurteau.bsky.social
Screenshot of a map of the Garnet Fire perimeter in Fresno County, California
August 27, 2025 at 1:06 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
LOL I googled how to live without AI
Screenshot of Google notice: “An AI Overview is not available for this search”
August 14, 2025 at 2:12 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
When you live in Fresno it can be a little difficult to explain to people from out of the area what a relief a 97° day can be in July.
iPhone weather app showing a current temperature of 91 degrees Fahrenheit, an expected high of 97, and a low of 66.
July 16, 2025 at 8:33 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Went for a good walk above Sequoia Lake today. The NPS has some prescribed fire operations going on in the area, and they’ve posted a pretty interesting burn history map at the Big Stump parking lot.
Map showing areas burned by prescription and wildfires over the past ~70 years near Grant Grove, Kings Canyon National Park
July 7, 2025 at 4:20 AM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Good advice for us all, all year long: “stay ready, stay in shape, be available.”
Screenshot of Facebook post from Badlanders LLC: August could be one of the most extreme climate driven fire periods for the North American continent. Long extended attack wildfires will be present and use every resource available. Stay ready Stay in shape be available [Image: a map titled “North American seasonal fire assessment, August 2025” shows above-normal fire risk for large areas of western Canada, northern US Rockies, US Pacific Northwest, California, Oklahoma, Texas, and Hawaii.]
June 21, 2025 at 2:19 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Here’s the letter. I would imagine most of these groups have a lot of Republican members so maybe this will have some effect.
Dear Leader Thune and Leader Schumer: On behalf of America's millions of hunters, anglers, wildlife professionals, conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts, we write to encourage you to keep federal public land sales out of the budget reconciliation bill. While we appreciate the desire to address federal land management challenges and respond to local community needs, we ask that any public land disposal be considered within transparent, public channels and that funding from sales be reinvested back into habitat and access. The reconciliation process does not provide the appropriate venue for these considerations. Our concerns are threefold. First, selling public lands through the reconciliation process bypasses critical public engagement opportunities provided under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and limits opportunities for hunters, anglers, recreationists and other stakeholders to engage in decisions affecting lands that belong to all Americans. Public participation is a cornerstone of FLPMA, ensuring transparency and accountability. We fear that curtailing FLPMA sets a troubling precedent for future land management decisions, and any approved land sales could be made that do not serve the public interest. Second, land sales through reconciliation would likely direct proceeds from sales to the general fund of the Treasury, rather than reinvesting funds in conservation programs that sustain our nation's wildlife, habitats and recreational opportunities. Federal lands have historically been a public trust investment, not a resource for general budgetary offsets, and the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA) was permanently reauthorized in 2018 to collect receipts from appropriate BLM land sales and reinvest those dollars into projects that expand access and conserve habitat. Diverting sale proceeds away from conservation deviates from the deal struck by a broad spectrum of interest groups, and it would likely lower the (cont’d) —> ecological and recreational value of our public lands. Third, and perhaps most critically, sales could include lands that are vital to hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation, particularly in rural areas. Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and other outdoor recreation pursuits are deeply ingrained in our cultural heritage and provide a significant driver for rural economies. The outdoor recreation industry has demonstrated a $1.2 trillion economic output nationally. Loss of access to valuable public land could impact hunters, anglers, and other recreationists who rely on public lands for their traditions, and could adversely affect outdoor businesses, guides and outfitters, local retailers, lodging companies and many others who rely on outdoor recreation for their livelihoods. We recognize the need and desire for increased efficiency in federal land management, and for communities to respond to local needs and demands, but budget reconciliation legislation is not an appropriate place for land sales. We urge you to prevent the inclusion of these provisions in the Senate bill. Thank you for your leadership and consideration. We stand ready to work with you to ensure that our public lands continue to serve as a legacy for all Americans. Sincerely, American Fisheries Society American Fly Fishing Trade Association American Sportfishing Association American Woodcock Society Angler Action Foundation Archery Trade Association Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Boone and Crockett Club Bonefish & Tarpon Trust California Waterfowl Association Camp Fire Club of America Captains for Clean Water Delta Waterfowl Izaak Walton League of America Land Trust Alliance National Association of Forest Service Retirees National Bobwhite & Grassland Initiative Foundation National Deer Association National Wild Turkey Federation National Wildlife Federation National Wildlife Refuge Association New York State Conservation Council (truncated)
June 16, 2025 at 5:58 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Yo, check the map. Many important places would be up for sale, including Mono Hot Springs, Jackass Meadow, etc, etc. “The bill fails to give sovereign Tribal Nations the right of first refusal to bid on lands, even for areas that are a part of their traditional homelands or contain sacred sites.”
Screenshot of map showing Sierra National Forest lands that would be up for sale if the Senate reconciliation bill is approved.
June 16, 2025 at 1:27 AM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Chumash Fire and the Sierra National Forest providing support for the North Fork Mono Tribe’s cultural burn
Red and green engine’s parked on a meadow’s edge, ready to lay hose. Another beautiful sunny day in the Sierra, perfect for burning.
June 8, 2025 at 8:02 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
It’s great to be back in California today helping Ron Goode and the North Fork Mono Tribe restore a meadow with a little fire
June 7, 2025 at 10:01 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Looks like a great dissertation by Anousheh Kehar, TU Wien. I recall talking w/ her a few years ago. She’s citing some good people here. “With Fire: Living as Guests on Unceded Indigenous Homelands (in California) and Architectural Praxes for Collective Futures” repositum.tuwien.at/bitstream/20...
Satellite photo from Anousheh Kehar’s dissertation, showing a massive smoke layer covering most of California
June 2, 2025 at 4:10 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
NASA image of Southern California at night, showing how mountains and ocean have shaped development. Fresno's just out of range. I'd love to see how the limits of Clovis, Madera, & Sanger approach the Sierra in comparison to Bakersfield and Visalia. Thinking of logging & sawmill history in the area.
Satellite image of southern California at night, from Calexico and San Diego to Santa Barbara and Visalia
May 22, 2025 at 5:11 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Choinumni walk & talk with Burt Stalter and his daughter Sierra at the Kings River. I learned a lot!
Burt Stalter talking to a Kings River Conervancy group on his Choinumni family’s homelands. Burt mentioned that the thick riparian tree gallery in the background of this photo did not exist before the construction of Pine Flat Dam in 1954 — periodic flooding scoured the river’s edge and kept it pretty clean. Sierra Stalter shows a sprig from a black walnut tree to the group at the King’s River. Selfie with Sierra and Burt. The backdrop is Hughes Mountain — land once owned by Burt’s great-grandmother.
May 17, 2025 at 8:41 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
From the grizzly bear reintroduction feasibility study at docs.calgrizzly.org/docs/CGA-Fea..., a list of foods for grizzlies in California. I'm surprised to see no mention of fish but, anyway, I recommend the authors collaborate with the agroforesters who raise these foods. @elperomyscus.bsky.social
Table S1. Plant genera included in the model, with justifications for inclusion. Allium: Alliums produce large nutrient-dense geophytic bulbs that represent a potential year-round food source for bears Avena Camassia: Camassia produce large nutrient-dense geophytic bulbs that represent a potential year-round food source for bears Carex: Carex plants produce nutritious forbs during the green-up season and nutrient-dense seed heads during reproduction Prunus Quercus: Oaks produce large flushes of highly nutritious and calorie-dense acorns, generally during the autumn months Rubus: Rubus plants produce large flushes of nutrient-dense fruits between spring and fall, depending on the species and climate. They are eaten by black bears frequently in California and grizzly bears outside of the state. Vaccinium In addition to plants, we also modeled the distribution of cutworm moths (of the family Noctuidae). These moths have been shown to be important sources of protein and calories for grizzly bears in the Rockies, especially in high-elevation habitats [25], [53]. Lastly, we included Columbian blacktailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) and other mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), which are predicted to be one of the main natural mammalian prey for California grizzly bears. We did not include elk (Cervus canadensis), as elk populations are generally small where they occur throughout the state and do not occur in large numbers in two-thirds of our study’s potential recovery areas.
May 13, 2025 at 1:45 PM
jdaldern.bsky.social
Yep, and considering how deeply Alcatraz’s history is entangled with Native history, a disdain for the NPS is also a disdain for complex stories the NPS tells, in favor of more cartoonish stories of gangsters and prison escapes. www.nps.gov/articles/000...
Screenshot from https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/redpower50.htm: The Military Prison The military prison at Fort Alcatraz held soldiers who broke army rules or committed crimes. The prison also incarcerated Native Americans. These included Paiute Tom, held for two days in 1873 before being shot trying to escape, and Kaetena, a Chiricahua Apache chief who rode with Geronimo. Other Native Americans imprisoned on the island included nineteen Oraibi Hopi elders from northern Arizona. They were arrested in 1895 for resisting federal policies that forced Hopi children to attend boarding schools where their hair was cut, they were forced to wear western clothes, and they were punished for speaking their own language. Many of the schools were run by Christian churches, whose teachings further eroded traditional culture.
May 12, 2025 at 4:33 PM