In this episode, we travel to First Rain Farm in Nevada County, where Tim Van Wagner is integrating a number of effective wildfire preparation methods on his property, as well as those of his neighbors and surrounding community. By combining targeted ecological grazing and prescribed burns, Tim is able to rehabilitate overgrown forests in the foothills to productive foraging systems that support greater biodiversity, sequester more carbon, and improve soil health and water quality in the region- all while also reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires.

Show Notes:

• First Rain Farm Website: https://www.firstrainfarm.com/
• John Jeavons: https://johnjeavons.org/
• Nourishing Traditions: https://nourishingtraditions.com/ 
• California Prescribed Burn Association: https://calpba.org/
• UC ANR Fire Resources and Information: https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/
• Brittleness Scale: https://savoryinstitute.teachable.com/courses/896826/lectures/16507356
• Land Management Regimes of Nevada County: https://www.ncrcd.org/resources-and-links/knowledge-base/agriculture-resources/  
• Ruminant Digestive System: https://extension.umn.edu/dairy-nutrition/ruminant-digestive-system
• Fuel Moisture: http://stream1.cmatc.cn/pub/comet/FireWeather/S290Unit10FuelMoisture/comet/fire/s290/unit10/print.htm#page_1.0.0
• Smoke Exposure and Safety: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/wildfire/worker-protection-from-wildfire-smoke.html
• SB 926- Rx Burn Liability Fund: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB926
• CAFF’s Wildfire Resilience Program: https://caff.org/wildfire-resilience-program/ 

Production Team:

• Podcast hosted by Amber Schat- Wildfire Resilience Specialist at CAFF
• Audio engineering and editing by Coby McDonald 
• Music by Blue Dot Sessions 
• Release Date: 12/14/2022