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Partners pitch 'exclusive' access to Mt. Waterman ski resort. The Forest Service has concerns

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Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Prospective new owners intend to revitalize the vintage Mt. Waterman ski resort in the Angeles National Forest — in part by selling exclusive access to coveted powder days to well-heeled customers and ferrying them to the mountains in chartered helicopters.But there’s a snag: The federal agency that has the final say on what can be done at the homey 390-acre resort hasn’t approved such a plan and said it would be hesitant to sanction anything that smacked of exclusivity.“I’m pretty confident we would not allow … any kind of exclusive use,” said the U.S. Forest Service’s Justin Seastrand, who oversees the public services staff area of the Angeles National Forest.That could throw a wrench into the business plan of the prospective owners, known as Angeles Mountain Partners LLC. They say the proceeds from what they call the Waterman100 club — a nod to the number of members — could bankroll improvements that would benefit all visitors. The words “exclusive,” “exclusively” and “exclusivity” appear at least 20 times in a presentation aimed at potential members.Beyond the “country club-style” membership, Angeles Mountain Partners co-founders Joshua Shelton and Scott Towsley envision transforming the no-frills, more than 80-year-old resort into a contemporary outdoors playground replete with glamping, mountain coaster, tubing hill, high-end dining and snowmaking capabilities.Club members would get to claim the mountain for themselves on “powder days,” or blue bird days immediately following a storm when conditions are peak, Shelton said. He acknowledged, however, that the owners can’t guarantee snow.“The risk they’re willing to take will help us underwrite our entire winter season and the resort as a whole,” Shelton, an attorney, said of prospective members. His partner Towsley is a winter resort industry veteran who operates alpine coaster parks in Big Bear and Arizona.How to get around the fact that heavy snowfall often closes the serpentine stretch of Highway 2 leading up to the resort? “The solution is a helicopter,” the presentation says, pointing to an on-site helipad where chartered flights could quickly ferry snow seekers up to the mountain. Shelton describes a plan to enlarge the helipad at the resort and transform it into a scenic point for visitors. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) A business plan provided to The Times pegged the price for the first 25 members at $100,000. The cost rises by $50,000 for each additional 25 members, so that members 76 to 100 pay $250,000, according to the plan. That adds up to $17.5 million in revenue — in addition to annual membership dues of $5,000 per member, per the plan. Shelton said the membership costs are not finalized, and that these figures were used for modeling. He also believes Forest Service officials misunderstood his plans for the club, saying they thought the intent was to sell the land to those people and totally shut out the public. “That’s the furthest from what we’re hoping to do here,” he said. Shelton’s team has since pulled down a description of Waterman100 from a web page for the club, citing an “overflow of submissions” and a plan “to make small language edits.” A grand plan — but not guaranteedWhat’s billed as the closest resort skiing to millions of residents in the L.A. Basin began with a modest rope tow in 1939, according to the resort website. That same year, Highway 2, also known as Angeles Crest Highway, breached the San Gabriel Mountains, paving the way for crowds. The resort located right off the highway expanded over time, opening its first chairlift in 1941 and then two more over 40 years. But the digs remain rustic and bare-bones. Shelton stands with Bodhi, his Bernese Mountain Dog, near the base of the resort right off Angeles Crest Highway. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) The resort — including three chair lifts, ticket booth, warming hut with a full kitchen and a handful of snowcats and snowmobiles — was listed earlier this year for $2.3 million. Shelton said Angeles Mountain Partners has entered into a purchase agreement with the owners, a group of friends led by Rick Metcalf, who grew up in the foothills neighborhood of La Cañada-Flintridge and learned to ski at the resort as youngsters. A press release put out by Angeles Mountain Partners in October said the group had acquired the resort. Shelton said in an interview that the sale hasn’t yet closed. The resort, topping out at more than 8,000 feet of elevation, is located on federally owned national forest land, and anyone who hopes to operate a business on it needs a special-use permit from the Forest Service. As of last week, Seastrand said the agency hadn’t received an application for a permit, though the prospective buyers had begun discussions with the agency and started handing over documents and other information. Marc Ramirez, listing agent and longtime resort employee, said he’s excited by the prospect of a reinvigorated business under the prospective owners. “You go down in L.A. and 10 out of 100 people only know of Mt. Waterman,” he said. “What the heck is that?” (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Providing a place for people to hit the slopes is a “good use” of the land, Seastrand said, though the benefit of gliding down powder needs to be balanced with visitor safety, as well as protecting plants and wild animals.Shelton stressed that his group is committed to working closely with the federal land manager and moving through all the required steps. Pointing to his legal background, he called regulations “a guide to how to do things the right way for us.”Seastrand said the agency looks forward to working with the prospective owners. Messages may have gotten crossed, and “that’s OK,” he said. “We want what’s best for the public that can come and use the land, and we want what’s best for our business partners, too.”Hope for a hidden gem fallen into disuse Newcomb’s Ranch, a former restaurant located down the road from the ski resort, is closed, but some say it could reopen under new ownership. “In theory,” an activated resort “would help them,” the U.S. Forest Service’s Justin Seastrand said. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Shelton, a lifelong snowboarder, grew up in the L.A. area but never ventured into the majestic mountains dotted with fragrant pines to the north, let alone cruised down the slopes of Mt. Waterman. When he saw the resort come up for sale, it instantly piqued his interest.“I felt like this weird vibration that I’d somehow be involved,” Shelton said. Towsley is a neighbor of his in a Mojave Desert community, and when they encountered one another they both brought up the listing, he recalled. Shelton, now a resident of Seal Beach in Orange County, said he has experience working out deals in a variety of industries. And Towsley, a skier, boasted resort operation credentials. While Angeles Mountain Partners’ plans raised eyebrows — an SF Gate headline said the historic ski area was poised to “become a haven for the rich” — many have pointed out that it hasn’t exactly been a paradigm of public access under previous owners.When Metcalf and company scooped up the resort in 2006, it hadn’t operated for several years and was on the verge of losing its Forest Service permit altogether, according to the resort website.“Our goal was to save the place,” said Craig Stewart, 62, one of the current owners. “We all learned to ski here. This is our backyard.” But it never became a reliable haven for ski-minded Angelenos, only opening occasionally to the public over the years, said Marc Ramirez, the listing agent for the property. Ramirez, a longtime resort employee, said he’s “excited to see it come back to what it can be.”Not all local skiers are jazzed about the plans for the resort. “It’s been the butt of jokes in every group ski chat I’ve participated in,” Highland Park resident Ethan Ayer said of the idea for heli-skiing, the term for plopping skiers on mountaintops via helicopter. Helicopter rides aren’t cheap, and those who heli-ski are often whisked to harrowing peaks in Alaska or British Columbia. “If you’re going to invest that much money, you would likely be a passionate skier, and the terrain at Waterman isn’t for passionate skiing,” Ayer, 46, said. Craig Stewart, a co-owner of the ski resort, called the mountain where he learned to ski “our backyard.” The goal of purchasing the property many years ago was to save it from shuttering for good. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Making up for Mother NaturePerhaps the biggest possible impediment to the team’s success is the region’s frequent lack of snow — and a current lack of snowmaking capabilities to make up for what Mother Nature doesn’t provide. Two other resorts in the San Gabriels — Mountain High and Mt. Baldy — can manufacture powder.Waterman’s prospective owners say they intend to bring in snowmaking, which could expand a season from a couple of weeks to almost half a year. However, it is another aspect of the vision that isn’t assured. Seastrand, a supervisory natural resource specialist for the Forest Service, said there was reason to be optimistic it could pan out but it would hinge on finding a water source.“It’s a relatively dry part of the forest,” he said. “There’s not a giant river anywhere around there.” Typically, a well would be the answer, but “you’re not guaranteed to just go drill a well and tap sufficient water.”Shelton said his team feels “very comfortable with the available water supply on the mountain.” Ramirez said there are three wells on the property, as well as a 4-million-gallon reservoir. Towsley has expertise in the matter, having designed and installed snowmaking systems for ski resorts across the U.S., according to company documents. It wouldn’t happen overnight, though. The first step would be securing conceptual acceptance from forest officials as part of a long-term planning document. Before installing lines and developing a water source, they’d need to go through environmental and other review, officials said.Shelton estimates it would take at least three years from their launch date. Until then, he expects to open for about 18 to 20 days for general public use. Dreaming of a shiny new futureOn a recent visit, Shelton walked the humble grounds and began painting a picture of what could be, with his 154-pound Bernese Mountain Dog, Bodhi, ambling amiably by his side. He gestured toward a patch of land off a path covered in pine needles and construction vehicles. That’s where he says 20 yurt-style tents will go. At the edge of a precipice, a flat surface formed a small helipad. Their intention is to expand it so it will double as an overlook offering sweeping views of the mountains that seem to repeat endlessly until they fade into the crisp blue November sky. That would make it more worthwhile for folks who take the lift up, he reasoned. “This I think could kind of tie that together with, like, let’s go up there, have a glass of wine and sit on the edge of the scenic point,” he said. Shelton stands with his dog, Bodhi, inside the no-frills warming hut. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Partners seeking to buy the ski resort raised alarm bells among Forest Service officials when they announced plans for a club with special access to the slopes.

But there’s a snag: The federal agency that has the final say on what can be done at the homey 390-acre resort hasn’t approved such a plan and said it would be hesitant to sanction anything that smacked of exclusivity.

“I’m pretty confident we would not allow … any kind of exclusive use,” said the U.S. Forest Service’s Justin Seastrand, who oversees the public services staff area of the Angeles National Forest.

That could throw a wrench into the business plan of the prospective owners, known as Angeles Mountain Partners LLC. They say the proceeds from what they call the Waterman100 club — a nod to the number of members — could bankroll improvements that would benefit all visitors. The words “exclusive,” “exclusively” and “exclusivity” appear at least 20 times in a presentation aimed at potential members.

Beyond the “country club-style” membership, Angeles Mountain Partners co-founders Joshua Shelton and Scott Towsley envision transforming the no-frills, more than 80-year-old resort into a contemporary outdoors playground replete with glamping, mountain coaster, tubing hill, high-end dining and snowmaking capabilities.

Club members would get to claim the mountain for themselves on “powder days,” or blue bird days immediately following a storm when conditions are peak, Shelton said. He acknowledged, however, that the owners can’t guarantee snow.

“The risk they’re willing to take will help us underwrite our entire winter season and the resort as a whole,” Shelton, an attorney, said of prospective members.

His partner Towsley is a winter resort industry veteran who operates alpine coaster parks in Big Bear and Arizona.

How to get around the fact that heavy snowfall often closes the serpentine stretch of Highway 2 leading up to the resort? “The solution is a helicopter,” the presentation says, pointing to an on-site helipad where chartered flights could quickly ferry snow seekers up to the mountain.

Attorney Joshua Shelton talks about the changes he would like to make at the resort.

A business plan provided to The Times pegged the price for the first 25 members at $100,000. The cost rises by $50,000 for each additional 25 members, so that members 76 to 100 pay $250,000, according to the plan. That adds up to $17.5 million in revenue — in addition to annual membership dues of $5,000 per member, per the plan. Shelton said the membership costs are not finalized, and that these figures were used for modeling.

He also believes Forest Service officials misunderstood his plans for the club, saying they thought the intent was to sell the land to those people and totally shut out the public. “That’s the furthest from what we’re hoping to do here,” he said.

Shelton’s team has since pulled down a description of Waterman100 from a web page for the club, citing an “overflow of submissions” and a plan “to make small language edits.”

A grand plan — but not guaranteed

What’s billed as the closest resort skiing to millions of residents in the L.A. Basin began with a modest rope tow in 1939, according to the resort website. That same year, Highway 2, also known as Angeles Crest Highway, breached the San Gabriel Mountains, paving the way for crowds. The resort located right off the highway expanded over time, opening its first chairlift in 1941 and then two more over 40 years. But the digs remain rustic and bare-bones.

The resort — including three chair lifts, ticket booth, warming hut with a full kitchen and a handful of snowcats and snowmobiles — was listed earlier this year for $2.3 million.

Shelton said Angeles Mountain Partners has entered into a purchase agreement with the owners, a group of friends led by Rick Metcalf, who grew up in the foothills neighborhood of La Cañada-Flintridge and learned to ski at the resort as youngsters. A press release put out by Angeles Mountain Partners in October said the group had acquired the resort. Shelton said in an interview that the sale hasn’t yet closed.

The resort, topping out at more than 8,000 feet of elevation, is located on federally owned national forest land, and anyone who hopes to operate a business on it needs a special-use permit from the Forest Service.

As of last week, Seastrand said the agency hadn’t received an application for a permit, though the prospective buyers had begun discussions with the agency and started handing over documents and other information.

Providing a place for people to hit the slopes is a “good use” of the land, Seastrand said, though the benefit of gliding down powder needs to be balanced with visitor safety, as well as protecting plants and wild animals.

Shelton stressed that his group is committed to working closely with the federal land manager and moving through all the required steps. Pointing to his legal background, he called regulations “a guide to how to do things the right way for us.”

Seastrand said the agency looks forward to working with the prospective owners. Messages may have gotten crossed, and “that’s OK,” he said. “We want what’s best for the public that can come and use the land, and we want what’s best for our business partners, too.”

Hope for a hidden gem fallen into disuse

The Newcomb Ranch restaurant has been closed since March 2020.

Shelton, a lifelong snowboarder, grew up in the L.A. area but never ventured into the majestic mountains dotted with fragrant pines to the north, let alone cruised down the slopes of Mt. Waterman. When he saw the resort come up for sale, it instantly piqued his interest.

“I felt like this weird vibration that I’d somehow be involved,” Shelton said. Towsley is a neighbor of his in a Mojave Desert community, and when they encountered one another they both brought up the listing, he recalled.

Shelton, now a resident of Seal Beach in Orange County, said he has experience working out deals in a variety of industries. And Towsley, a skier, boasted resort operation credentials.

While Angeles Mountain Partners’ plans raised eyebrows — an SF Gate headline said the historic ski area was poised to “become a haven for the rich” — many have pointed out that it hasn’t exactly been a paradigm of public access under previous owners.

When Metcalf and company scooped up the resort in 2006, it hadn’t operated for several years and was on the verge of losing its Forest Service permit altogether, according to the resort website.

“Our goal was to save the place,” said Craig Stewart, 62, one of the current owners. “We all learned to ski here. This is our backyard.”

But it never became a reliable haven for ski-minded Angelenos, only opening occasionally to the public over the years, said Marc Ramirez, the listing agent for the property. Ramirez, a longtime resort employee, said he’s “excited to see it come back to what it can be.”

Not all local skiers are jazzed about the plans for the resort. “It’s been the butt of jokes in every group ski chat I’ve participated in,” Highland Park resident Ethan Ayer said of the idea for heli-skiing, the term for plopping skiers on mountaintops via helicopter.

Helicopter rides aren’t cheap, and those who heli-ski are often whisked to harrowing peaks in Alaska or British Columbia. “If you’re going to invest that much money, you would likely be a passionate skier, and the terrain at Waterman isn’t for passionate skiing,” Ayer, 46, said.

Craig Stewart, a co-owner of Mt. Waterman, walks through the lodge at the resort.

Making up for Mother Nature

Perhaps the biggest possible impediment to the team’s success is the region’s frequent lack of snow — and a current lack of snowmaking capabilities to make up for what Mother Nature doesn’t provide. Two other resorts in the San Gabriels — Mountain High and Mt. Baldy — can manufacture powder.

Waterman’s prospective owners say they intend to bring in snowmaking, which could expand a season from a couple of weeks to almost half a year.

However, it is another aspect of the vision that isn’t assured. Seastrand, a supervisory natural resource specialist for the Forest Service, said there was reason to be optimistic it could pan out but it would hinge on finding a water source.

“It’s a relatively dry part of the forest,” he said. “There’s not a giant river anywhere around there.” Typically, a well would be the answer, but “you’re not guaranteed to just go drill a well and tap sufficient water.”

Shelton said his team feels “very comfortable with the available water supply on the mountain.” Ramirez said there are three wells on the property, as well as a 4-million-gallon reservoir. Towsley has expertise in the matter, having designed and installed snowmaking systems for ski resorts across the U.S., according to company documents.

It wouldn’t happen overnight, though.

The first step would be securing conceptual acceptance from forest officials as part of a long-term planning document. Before installing lines and developing a water source, they’d need to go through environmental and other review, officials said.

Shelton estimates it would take at least three years from their launch date. Until then, he expects to open for about 18 to 20 days for general public use.

Dreaming of a shiny new future

On a recent visit, Shelton walked the humble grounds and began painting a picture of what could be, with his 154-pound Bernese Mountain Dog, Bodhi, ambling amiably by his side. He gestured toward a patch of land off a path covered in pine needles and construction vehicles. That’s where he says 20 yurt-style tents will go.

At the edge of a precipice, a flat surface formed a small helipad. Their intention is to expand it so it will double as an overlook offering sweeping views of the mountains that seem to repeat endlessly until they fade into the crisp blue November sky. That would make it more worthwhile for folks who take the lift up, he reasoned.

“This I think could kind of tie that together with, like, let’s go up there, have a glass of wine and sit on the edge of the scenic point,” he said.

Joshua Shelton stands with his dog in a rustic building

Read the full story here.

Photos courtesy of

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Diamond Green Diesel, or DGD, a U.S. leader in renewable diesel production, imports beef tallow from a supplier fed by Brazilian slaughterhouses fined for illegal deforestation. These include a plant that purchased cattle from a rancher described by Brazilian authorities as the “largest destroyer of the Amazon” ever investigated. Repórter Brasil obtained documents about DGD’s supplier chain and identified, in addition to this case, connections to at least two other slaughterhouses that bought cattle from ranchers fined for practices associated with large-scale illegal deforestation. These cases raise a red flag about the potential harmful climate impacts of alternative fuels. Despite biofuels’ image as a ‘green’ fuel, the use of livestock inputs in their production can increase deforestation, warns Tim Searchinger, a senior researcher at Princeton University. “The reason land is being deforested is to meet growing demand for food and biofuels,” he says. 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Contributors to Scientific American’s October 2025 Issue

Writers, artists, photographers and researchers share the stories behind the stories

September 16, 20254 min readContributors to Scientific American’s October 2025 IssueWriters, artists, photographers and researchers share the stories behind the storiesBy Jen Schwartz Chris Gunn The Lives of Dead TreesFor almost 25 years Chris Gunn (above) worked as a contract photographer for NASA, where he shot precious objects such as moon rocks brought back from the first Apollo landing and, as lead photographer for the project, captured three years of the James Webb Space Telescope’s construction. That often meant working in clean rooms, with their rigid protocols and highly controlled conditions. 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Most of the bones I worked on were two millimeters or smaller.”When Wilson, who is now a Ph.D. student at Princeton University, went to Alaska for graduate school, she thought she’d spend her first summer identifying and describing bird fossils alongside Ksepka. “We started to get a good sense that some of this stuff was pretty significant,” she recalls. “I e-mailed [Ksepka] nonstop for the next three years, saying, ‘Wow, this is weird, look at this, what do you think?’” The result of their fieldwork was a “holistic study not just of the birds but of the whole ecosystem,” she says.Stories like this one are important, Wilson says, because we wouldn’t be able to understand how abnormal the rate of global warming is today if we didn’t know how things happened in the past. “We learned that birds have been nesting in the same area in Alaska for 73 million years,” she says. “Then humans show up, and in the blink of an eye we’re endangering that.”Rebecca Gelernter The Dawn of Polar Bird MigrationIllustrator Rebecca Gelernter loves doing paleoart, “and I don’t get to do it very often,” she says. For this issue, she illustrated 10 ancient birds for a cladogram in the feature by Lauren N. Wilson and Daniel T. Ksepka about the dawn of bird migration. As Gelernter talks about skeletal reconstructions, it’s easy to feel her joy at bringing fossil birds back to life. “I really like A Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and Other Winged Dinosaurs [by Matthew P. Martyniuk] because it’s structured like a bird guide, with notes on proportion and wingspan,” she says.Gelernter has been a “bird person” since she was 10 years old, and she studied ornithology in college. Then she discovered science illustration and enrolled in a graduate program, “which was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”The most fun part of the work is when Gelernter gets to problem-solve the gaps in knowledge, such as by designing plumage colors for dinosaurs. “I like adding a little crest here, some fun soft tissue there,” she says. “Birds are just weird. They have all kinds of bizarre display structures, so it’s hard to come up with something that’s really unreasonable.”It’s Time to Stand Up for ScienceIf you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Forests

Nature

Science

Zone zero' rule could be California's wildfire savior — or its environmental undoing

The state's proposed 'zone zero' rules are commonsense fire safety, proponents say, but opponents fear they will decimate Southern California's urban forest.

Depending on whom you talk to, the proposed new defensible space rules for “zone zero” will help save homes in very high fire hazard severity zones, or decimate much of Southern California’s urban tree canopy without really deterring the types of wildland fires that destroyed much of Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu earlier this year. Either way, the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Zone 0 Advisory Committee will likely get an earful of comments during its public meeting Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Pasadena Convention Center. The committee will be presenting its proposed rules for creating “fire defensible spaces” or “ember-resistant zones” within five feet of buildings in very high fire hazard severity zones protected by city and county firefighters as well as all areas protected by state firefighters. These five-foot-wide buffers are now widely known as “zone zero.” The Board of Forestry and Fire Protection was initially tasked with creating specific zone zero regulations in 2020, after the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 3074, said Yana Valachovic, a technical adviser to the board who wears many hats as the county director and forest advisor for both the UC Cooperative Extension in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, as well as for the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network. But on Feb. 6, in the wake of the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires, Gov. Gavin Newsom gave the board until Dec. 31 to finalize the regulations. Here are the main points in the proposed zone zero regulations, published in August and now up for public comment:“No landscaping materials that are likely to be ignited by embers are permitted within zone zero.” (That is, within five feet of a structure). “This includes, but is not limited to grass, ornamental or native plants, shrubs, fallen leaves and tree needles, weeds, and combustible mulches including bark and wood chips.”Trees within zone zero can be maintained, according to the proposed rules, as long as dead or dying branches are removed and all live tree branches are five feet above the roof and away from sides of the structure, and 10 feet away from any chimneys or stovepipes. Two exemptions are listed. The first allows potted plants under 18 inches in height in noncombustible containers no larger than five gallons, and “not directly situated beneath, above or in front of a window, glass door, or vent.” The second exemption is less clear: “Single specimens of trees that are well-pruned and maintained so as to effectively manage fuels and fuel ladders.” The committee is still working to define this exemption more specifically, Tony Andersen, the board’s executive officer, said. For instance, he said, the committee could clarify the exemption to read that well-pruned trees (i.e. trees whose branches are five feet away from roofs or walls) are permitted as long as they don’t have overlapping canopies that act as fuel ladders, permitting the fire to spread.Roofs and rain gutters must be kept clear of needles and leaves and “the areas under decks, balconies and stairs must be kept free of vegetative material and combustible items.”Other proposed zone zero rules would forbid “combustible items that are likely to be ignited by embers,” including outbuildings not meant for habitation. Combustible gates cannot be directly adjacent to or attached to a building or structure. Fences that are directly attached to a building or structure must have a five-foot noncombustible span at the point of attachment, and after the rules go into effect, no new combustible fences or attached decks will be permitted within five feet of a building or structure.The requirements for zone zero will go into effect immediately after approval for all new construction and within three years for existing buildings. In areas protected by city, county and state firefighters, jurisdictions may “choose to develop alternative practices for zone zero compliance that take into account local variations” as long as an authority in the local jurisdiction finds that the alternative practice “provides for substantially similar practical effects as those stated in the regulations.” Andersen said he doesn’t know if the committee will further clarify the “substantially similar” language, “but the full draft rule plead continues to be considered and discussed.” Proponents argue that the proposed regulations are needed to keep communities safe, given the recent increases in wildfires in Southern California. “As a society, we’ve thought of fire and fuel issues as somebody else’s problem, and we’ve been entirely dependent on firefighters to save our homes,” Valachovic said. “But is business as usual protecting us? “We’ve lost 57,000 structures [to fire] in this state in the last decade. Two hundred people have died in wildfires and one out of every seven acres in the state have burned in the last decade,” she said. “It takes time for people to understand the new environment we’re living in and change is hard, but what these zone-zero regs do is give people a chance to better understand what’s constituted as fuels that might pose a risk to their home and family, and these are things that are within a homeowner’s control.” The rulemaking has gone through many revisions and stalls, Valachovic said, as the board and then the committee sifted through hours of testimony, dozens of studies and hundreds of comments. Opponents say the rules are being pushed by insurance companies trying to limit their exposure and don’t take into account research that indicates urban fires are spread more from house to house than plants to house, and many irrigated trees and other plants can actually protect structures from fire. Indeed, Valachovic notes that lobbyists and researchers for insurance companies have been frequent contributors to the testimony about the proposal, arguing strongly in favor of removing all combustible materials near homes.Furthermore, opponents say, neighborhoods in very high fire hazard severity zones such as Silver Lake, Beachwood Canyon and Eagle Rock could see a huge loss of greenery since their homes are often built close together on small lots, with trees and other landscaping well within five feet of buildings and structures. “They’re talking about destroying our urban canopy, hundreds of acres of trees for uncertain benefits,” said Cyndi Hubach, a member of the City of Los Angeles’ Community Forest Advisory Committee. Hubach, who lives in Silver Lake, wrote CFAC’s report for the council outlining the problems with the proposed regulations, and what the organization believes should change.Basically, the report (approved by CFAC on Sept. 4) argues that cutting down irrigated, healthy vegetation around homes will cause more problems than it solves by eliminating shade, increasing the risk of erosion and destroying habitat, among other things. The report recommends that the regulations move away from a “one-size-fits-all approach,” allow for an appeals process and exempt “healthy, hydrated and well maintained vegetation ... not likely to be ignited by embers,” as well as protected native trees and shrubs, historic and heritage trees and living municipal street trees if well-pruned and maintained.The state has done a poor job of getting the word out about these regulations, Hubach said. “Most people don’t know this is coming their way, and when they find out about [the proposed rules], they don’t think it will make them safer. They think it will make their neighborhoods hotter, dryer, uglier and less safe.”As word has spread this summer about the proposed regulations, opposition has swelled around Southern California. In a recent online talk, Travis Longcore, an environmental scientist and former president of the Los Angeles Audubon Society, laid out a detailed online analysis of the proposed regulations.In his talk, Longcore agrees with Valachovic that certain parts of the proposed regulations make sense, such as removing wood fences connected to buildings and pine needles and dead leaves from roofs. “But we should continue to request that healthy live vegetation be permissible if it’s not likely to be ignited by embers, so it’s not lumped in with plants that accumulate dead wood like junipers and cypress trees that always have accumulated dead matter in them.”Longcore also said it’s unclear how the proposed regulations will be enforced and what kinds of penalties will be applied to people who don’t comply.Former State Fire Marshal Ruben Grijalva has similar concerns about enforcement, given that inspectors are already overtaxed. Grijalva objects to what he calls the “one-size-fits-all approach” of the proposed regulations because they don’t recognize differences between houses constructed before 2008 and those built after. Newer houses must comply with changes he helped implement in Chapter 7A of the California Building Code, including requiring ignition-resistant materials for roofs and decks, dual-pane glass for windows and vents that keep embers out. Grijalva currently works with large developers to make master plan communities with thousands of dwellings — such as Rancho Mission Viejo in the hills above San Juan Capistrano — as fire-resistant as possible, while also including the aesthetic and cooling benefits of trees such as oaks and sycamores. Members of the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Zone 0 Advisory Committee will also be speaking at an informational town hall meeting Sept. 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Ventura County Fire Headquarters in Newbury Park. Visitors are requested to RSVP with the organizer of the event, Ventura County Supervisor Jeff Gorell. The following day, Sept. 18, anyone can listen in to the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s public meeting, but public comments may be limited to people appearing in person because of the sheer number expected to speak, said Marcie Yates, the board’s land-use planning program manager. This is the committee’s first public meeting in Southern California and could be its last, since, according to Andersen, it plans to discuss the comments it receives Sept. 18 at its regular meeting in Sacramento on Sept. 22, and then decide whether to further tweak the proposed rules or forward them to the full board for consideration.

Forests

Agriculture

Health

The Major NJ Wildfire Shows Unexpected Urban Areas Are at Risk

A forest fire that erupted in New Jersey and spread overnight highlights the major wildfire risk faced by the state and other urban areas

Why New Jersey Is Actually a Place with Major Wildfire RiskA forest fire that erupted in New Jersey and spread overnight highlights the major wildfire risk faced by the state and other urban areasBy Stephanie Pappas edited by Jeanna BrynerFirefighters try to extinguish a fast-moving brush fire along on November 19, 2024 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesA forest fire that erupted in New Jersey yesterday morning was spurred by winds and dry weather, fulfilling a prediction by state officials that the state would see an active fire season this spring.The Jones Road Fire has burned 12,000 acres, more than the average area burned by wildfires in the state in an entire year. A drought warning has been in effect in New Jersey since November 2024, which means that many drought status indicators, such as current drinking water supplies, are below normal. And after a busy fall fire season, spring kicked off with an above-average number of fires as well. The Jones Road Fire, which forced evacuations in Ocean County, New Jersey, threatened hundreds of homes and businesses in a populated area.How Did the New Jersey Fire Spread?On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.State fire officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire, but it grew in dry, windy conditions. The blaze started at the edge of the Pinelands, a region of pine forests known for its wildfire risk. In fact, the Pinelands’ landscape has been shaped by fire—if it didn’t regularly burn, the ecosystem would transition into an oak forest, says David Robinson, New Jersey’s state climatologist and a professor at Rutgers University.“Traditionally, spring is fire season down in the Pinelands, so as far as seasonal timing to this fire, there’s nothing unusual,” Robinson says. “The fact that [the fire] spread so quickly may be a testament to the fact that it hasn’t rained in over 10 days.”Because of New Jersey’s population density, the state experiences a lot of what research ecologist Michael Gallagher of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Northern Research Station calls “interface fires,” which are fires that start where human habitation bumps up against wildland. “Fires as small as an acre frequently threaten homes,” Gallagher says.But the Jones Road fire moved quickly into an exurb-type environment with numerous buildings in its path. Wind-borne embers sped the fire along, starting spot fires that ignited new blazes, Gallagher says. His research has shown that in the spring, the sun tends to heat the south side of pine trees in the forests of the Pinelands, causing the bark to dry and curl. These curls ignite easily in a fire. Winds blowing from the north are then well poised to catch these tiny flaming brands, blowing them ahead of the main fire.How Did New Jersey’s Drought Worsen Fire Conditions?October 2024 was the driest month in the state in 130 years, Robinson says. Though fires generally peak in spring in New Jersey, it saw a busy fire season in the fall, as did much of the Northeast.Winter brought some relief. This year, however, New Jersey’s fire season, which typically starts in March, began in earnest in January, state officials said in a March 3 news conference. Between January 1 and March 3, the state saw 214 fires burn through 514 acres, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection reported. In comparison, 69 fires burned 21 acres during the same period in 2024.“We’re continuing just where we left off last year,” said state fire chief Bill Donnelly in the briefing.Precipitation improved somewhat in March and April, Robinson says, but it hasn’t recovered to the point that the state is out of the drought. “The news is all kind of good, but we still have to remember we are in a drought warning,” he says. And while the overall trend has been toward more moisture, the Pinelands area had been going through a mini dry spell before the fire began, with almost two weeks without rain, he says. The sandy soil and pine needles in the regions don’t hold on to water for long.“This area dries out very quickly,” Robinson says.That means the weather was ripe for fire, and wind gusts of up to 25 miles per hour quickly whipped the fire toward inhabited areas.“Last night [the fire] was on the eastern end of the Pinelands, near the [Garden State] Parkway, and it hopped the Parkway and headed toward the coast in a populated area. So [this was] a real worrisome situation,” Robinson says.How Will Climate Change Affect New Jersey’s Fire Risk?Wildfires are aggressively managed in New Jersey, with prescribed burns to reduce fuel and quick suppression when fires do ignite, Robinson says. These evolving actions should tamp down any climate-change-related increase in risk and make it difficult to compare the state’s fire outlook with a preindustrial “normal.” New Jersey has a history of large fires, including a multiple-fire outbreak in 1963 known as Black Saturday, which burned 183,000 acres and killed seven people.Long-term projections suggest the state will get a little wetter in a warming world, though rain is not expected to become more frequent, but rather will likely be heavier when it does fall. Warming temperatures could nudge the state’s fire risk a little bit higher as fuels dry out faster, however.“Things become volatile pretty quickly,” Robinson says.

Forests

Agriculture

Climate

A Sequoia Forest in Detroit? Plantings to Improve Air Quality and Mark Earth Day

Arborists are hoping to transform vacant land on Detroit’s eastside by planting giant sequoias, the world’s largest trees

DETROIT (AP) — Arborists are turning vacant land on Detroit's eastside into a small urban forest, not of elms, oaks and red maples indigenous to the city but giant sequoias, the world's largest trees that can live for thousands of years.The project on four lots will not only replace long-standing blight with majestic trees, but could also improve air quality and help preserve the trees that are native to California’s Sierra Nevada, where they are threatened by ever-hotter wildfires.Detroit is the pilot city for the Giant Sequoia Filter Forest. The nonprofit Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is donating dozens of sequoia saplings that will be planted by staff and volunteers from Arboretum Detroit, another nonprofit, to mark Earth Day on April 22.Co-founder David Milarch says Archangel also plans to plant sequoias in Los Angeles, Oakland, California, and London. The massive conifers can grow to more than 300 feet (90 meters) tall with a more than 30-foot (9-meter) circumference at the base. They can live for more than 3,000 years.“Here’s a tree that is bigger than your house when it’s mature, taller than your buildings, and lives longer than you can comprehend,” said Andrew “Birch” Kemp, Arboretum Detroit's executive director.The sequoias will eventually provide a full canopy that protects everything beneath, he said.“It may be sad to call these .5- and 1-acre treescapes forests,” Kemp said. “We are expanding on this and shading our neighborhood in the only way possible, planting lots of trees.”Giant sequoias are resilient against disease and insects, and are usually well-adapted to fire. Thick bark protects their trunks and their canopies tend to be too high for flames to reach. But climate change is making the big trees more vulnerable to wildfires out West, Kemp said.“The fires are getting so hot that its even threatening them,” he said. Descendants of Stagg and Waterfall Archangel, based in Copemish, Michigan, preserves the genetics of old-growth trees for research and reforestation. The sequoia saplings destined for Detroit are clones of two giants known as Stagg — the world's fifth-largest tree — and Waterfall, of the Alder Creek grove, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.In 2010, Archangel began gathering cones and climbers scaled high into the trees to gather new-growth clippings from which they were able to develop and grow saplings.Sequoias need space, and metropolitan Detroit has plenty of it.In the 1950s, 1.8 million people called Detroit home, but the city's population has since shrunk to about one-third of that number. Tens of thousands of homes were left empty and neglected.“There’s not another urban area I know of that has the kind of potential that we do to reforest," he said. “We could all live in shady, fresh air beauty. It's like no reason we can’t be the greenest city in the world.”Within the last decade, 11 sequoias were planted on vacant lots owned by Arboretum Detroit and nine others were planted on private properties around the neighborhood. Each now reaches 12 to 15 feet (3.6 to 4.5 meters) tall. Arboretum Detroit has another 200 in its nursery. Kemp believes the trees will thrive in Detroit.“They’re safer here ... we don’t have wildfires like (California). The soil stays pretty moist, even in the summer,” he said. “They like to have that winter irrigation, so when the snow melts they can get a good drink.” How will the sequoias impact Detroit? Caring for the sequoias will fall to future generations, so Milarch has instigated what he calls “tree school” to teach Detroit’s youth how and why to look after the new trees.“We empower our kids to teach them how to do this and give them the materials and the way to do this themselves,” Milarch said. “They take ownership. They grow them in the classrooms and plant them around the schools. They know we’re in environmental trouble.”Some of them may never have even walked in a forest, Kemp said.“How can we expect children who have never seen a forest to care about deforestation on the other side of the world?" Kemp said. "It is our responsibility to offer them their birthright.”City residents are exposed to extreme air pollution and have high rates of asthma. The Detroit sequoias will grow near a heavily industrial area, a former incinerator and two interstates, he said.Kemp’s nonprofit has already planted about 650 trees — comprising around 80 species — in some 40 lots in the area. But he believes the sequoias will have the greatest impact.“Because these trees grow so fast, so large and they’re evergreen they’ll do amazing work filtering the air here,” Kemp said. “We live in pretty much a pollution hot spot. We’re trying to combat that. We’re trying to breathe clean air. We’re trying to create shade. We’re trying to soak up the stormwater, and I think sequoias — among all the trees we plant — may be the strongest, best candidates for that.”Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

Forests

Climate

Pollution

Suggested Viewing

The Story of a Forest

In 2004, a generation of activists arose in South Florida, carrying the passion of direct action groups like Earth First. and the deep analysis of the global justice movement that had swept the country in the preceding years. These activists sought local issues that exemplified the threats of corporate globalization. They stumbled upon a plan from biotech industry giants acting in collusion with the administration of then-Governor Jeb Bush to clear a vast swath of land in the Northeast Everglades of Florida to accommodate The Scripps Biotech Research Institute - And it was on. Over the next ten years, endless county zoning meetings were counter-balanced by dozens of civil disobedience arrests and a near-constant flow of news headlines about the battle: lawsuits, scandal, corruption, tree sits, endangered species, pranks, blockades, and a roller coaster of incremental victories followed by devastating losses for years on end. THE STORY OF A FOREST captures it all in a 1/2 hour documentary about the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC) and Everglades Earth First!'s (EEF!) ten-plus year campaign to stop the Scripps Biotech development, with a focus on protecting biodiversity in the Briger forest and the Florida wetlands.

Activism

Forests

Business

Talking Trees

Yes, trees can talk. They communicate through their roots. Please listen to what they have to say in this short film.

Forests

Extinction

Climate

The Windshield Effect

As a child, Julian and his mother, Sylvie, could spend hours out in nature admiring the soundtrack of the plentiful insects. One day, a grown Julian is out on a run in those same woods and when he takes off his ear buds, realizes he cannot hear anything at all. A trip to the audiologist assures him there is nothing wrong with his ears, but he is still left shaken. Back in the forest, he comes to the realization that the insects themselves have gone silent in a mass die off. Also known as the "Windshield Phenomenon" that documents how bugs no longer splatter on windshields as we drive as insect populations are down more than 45% over the last 4 decades.

Forests

Extinction

Nature

Foresters

Some teenagers kidnap a kid in the forest and take him to their boss in a cottage.

Forests

Fiction

Youth

Among Giants

Among Giants begins three years into the McKay tree-sit- a response to Green Diamond Resource Company’s clearcutting of redwood forests. Atop his tiny platform a hundred feet up in the ancient redwood canopy, Farmer must battle the elements and avoid isolation as he fights for a sustainable future. The film uses a restrained verite style that reflects the pace of life in the tree village. As Farmer outlasts a vicious storm, counts the rings on a felled tree, and trumps through a recent clear cut, the film asks questions about what it means to follow one’s beliefs and make a difference in the world.

Forests

Activism

Nature

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