The California Department of Water Resources and academic partners are testing culturally informed prescribed burns in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The project aims to determine if these traditional land management practices can accelerate carbon sequestration and reverse land subsidence in peat soils. By removing dead vegetation and creating char, researchers hypothesize that the resulting surge in plant growth will offset the emissions from the burns. This pilot project at Twitchell Island integrates traditional ecological knowledge with modern science to restore the Delta's natural ability to act as a carbon sink.
