More than 29,000 wildfires have burned over 2.6 million acres in the U.S. 2016. Those numbers are increasing concerns that 2016 may approach last year’s historic totals of 10 million acres burned costing Americans $2.1 billion.

A recent National Climate Assessment study suggests that climate change has made our landscapes much more susceptible to catastrophic fires. Climate change’s annual temperature increase of 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit in the last decade and snow packs that are melting four weeks earlier are leaving landscapes drier and inviting wildfires to spread as soon as they start.

While wildfires can’t be prevented altogether, but there are smart actions that can improve fire resiliency and reduce the impact of wild wires. That is why the Department of Interior is implementing the Wildland Fire Resilient Landscapes Program to improve fire resiliency by restoring public lands.

Trout Headwaters has preached a proactive restoration approach for many years. We know stream dewatering is a big problem in some areas. Streams that used to persist during dry spells, now dwindle to a trickle or completely dry up. And once-saturated riparian areas burn instead of protecting streams and providing natural firebreaks.

Also, healthy, diverse, streamside vegetation and wide, lush floodplains can buffer the effects of wildfire and protect water quality by having the ability to reseed and recover more quickly than streams devoid of vegetation. Additionally, roots of woody vegetation can hold the soil, reducing siltation to streams.

Trout Headwaters can assess your property’s water resources and provide guidance about their restoration – real resilience to wildfire damage.

Contact the Trout Headwaters team at 800-218-8107 or complete the simple form below.

[proper_contact_form]