FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Karuk Tribe Proud to Sponsor Assemblymember Damon Connolly’s Beneficial Fire Capacity Act (AB 1891)
Karuk Ancestral Territory, California —

The Karuk Tribe proudly announces its sponsorship of Assemblymember Damon Connolly’s Beneficial Fire Capacity Act (AB 1891), landmark legislation designed to expand California’s capacity to implement prescribed fire and cultural burning as essential tools for forest health, wildfire risk reduction, and climate resilience.

As sponsor of AB 1891, the Karuk Tribe brings generations of lived experience and Indigenous knowledge to the forefront of state wildfire policy. For thousands of years, Karuk people have stewarded lands along the Klamath River through cultural burning practices that enhance biodiversity, restore ecosystems, and sustain culturally significant resources. The Tribe’s leadership in advancing beneficial fire policy reflects a long-standing commitment to restoring balance to fire-adapted landscapes.

“Fire is medicine, and it is central to who we are as Karuk people,”

“Fire is medicine, and it is central to who we are as Karuk people,” said Karuk Tribal Chairman Russell “Buster” Attebery. “By sponsoring AB 1891, we are working to ensure that California invests in the workforce, training, and capacity building necessary to bring good fire back to the land. This bill recognizes that proactive stewardship — including cultural burning led by Tribal practitioners — is key to protecting our communities and ecosystems.”

The Beneficial Fire Capacity Act seeks to strengthen and expand California’s beneficial fire workforce to enable the increases in pace and scale needed to reach California’s ambitious goals as set out in the 2024 Nature-Based Solutions Climate Targets report. The Act does so by dedicating 10% of CALFIRE’s annual greenhouse gas reduction fund (GGRF) wildfire resilience allocation to support and grow tribal and community-based beneficial fire organizations’ programmatic capacity and training offerings, as well as by creating a competitive grant program to support training, research, innovation, and new organizational capacity building. As catastrophic wildfires grow in frequency and intensity due to climate change and a legacy of fire suppression, expanding the safe and effective use of intentional fire is both urgent and necessary.

Recognizing that Tribes have been burning to manage California landscapes for millennia, the Karuk Tribe emphasizes that Tribal sovereignty and Indigenous knowledge must remain central to the implementation of AB 1891, and applauds Assemblymember Damon Connolly for creating a 25% tribal set-aside in this bill. Supporting cultural fire practitioners and fostering Tribal-state partnerships are critical components of building long-term fire resilience across California.

The Tribe thanks Assemblymember Connolly for his leadership and collaboration in advancing this important legislation and urges policymakers to support AB 1891. Through shared commitment and meaningful partnership, California can restore healthy fire regimes, reduce wildfire risk, and honor the Indigenous stewardship traditions that have sustained these lands since time immemorial.

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