This article was contributed by Devii Rao, San Benito director and livestock/natural resources advisor with UC Cooperative Extension.

Please join UC Cooperative Extension for a virtual meeting on July 2 from 9-10 a.m. to hear results from a study investigating how livestock grazing influences fire safety. We will also discuss development of a Prescribed Burn Association in San Benito, Monterey, and Santa Cruz counties. Click here for the flyer.

This will be a virtual meeting that can be joined by Zoom or telephone. Cost is free, but registration is required.

To register, visit http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=30242 or contact Devii Rao at [email protected] or (831) 205-3125. Please register by June 26. You will receive an email with the Zoom/call-in information by June 30.

This one-hour workshop will provide updates on two grants related to fire:

• UCCE San Benito County has been conducting research on how much forage/fuels livestock consume in counties across California, and how grazing influences fire safety in the State. We will share results from the study. This research is supported by a grant from the California Cattle Council.
• UCCE San Benito County and the RCD of Monterey County (RCDMC) were recently awarded a Cal Fire grant to develop a Prescribed Burn Association (PBA). We will discuss next steps to develop a PBA in San Benito, Monterey, and Santa Cruz counties; new collaborative burning and potential research opportunities with Cal Fire; and working with a burn boss to lead your prescribed burn on private or public land.

Speakers will include Devii Rao (UCCE), Jamie Tuitele-Lewis (RCDMC), Jonathan Pangburn (Cal Fire), Phil Dye (Prometheus Fire Consulting), and Felix Ratcliff (LD Ford, Consultants in Rangeland Conservation Science).