UCSB partners with Chumash to bring back a cultural burn.
ISLA VISTA, Calif.— UCSB is partnering with the Chumash to bring back an important cultural tradition known as a cultural burn.
We spoke to Santa Barbara County Fire and a plant expert about the importance of this prescribed burn.
For centuries, the Chumash used fire to stimulate plant growth, increase seed and other plant resources, and create better hunting conditions.
That was until the Spanish governor banned the practice in 1793.
For the first time in over 200 years the Chumash will embrace their important tradition.
From the mountains to the coast, the state is slowly coming around to understanding that native peoples practices had value,” said UCSB Nursery and Greenhouse Manager Wayne Chapman.
In addition to its deep cultural significance this controlled burn will reduce the risk of future fires.
“By doing this burn we're not only return it to its natural state, but it makes it more of a healthier area here of ecologically friendly and fire friendly environment. It doesn't allow fire to carry through as easy,” said Santa Barbara County Fire Spokesperson Scott Safechuck.
The fire will also get rid of invasive plants, making room for native species to come back.
“It recycles nutrients and it clears up the thatch. So it increases. Interstitial is in places where new recruitment happens and new germination. And so it can also be really good for grazers because the grasses that do come back tend to be really healthy and really palatable to livestock,” said Chapman.
The Fire Department is hoping for optimal weather conditions so that everything can go according to plan.
“We don't want to have a lot of windy conditions. We want to make sure that's not going to be raining so that our burn is controlled and efficient and burns through the vegetation in the manner that we're looking for. Right. So that kills the seeds of the plants that we don't want here and allows the seeds of the plants that we want here too germinate and create that fuel type conversion,” said Safechuck.
The burn is set to take place at UCSB’s North Campus Open Space at the end of September.
