The following article is a serialized story of the decade-long effort to convince intransigent government officials in San Diego County that science matters and that the region’s native chaparral ecosystem has value. In the name of fire protection, the county attempted to establish a plan that could have allowed it to clear tens of thousands of acres of native habitat without proper oversight as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The story is timely because of the curre...

The only home (on left) to survive during the 2003 Cedar Fire on this Scripps Ranch cul-de-sac was the one with roofing made of fire-proof shingles. The eight surrounding homes that burned to the ground had wooden shake shingles. The Homeowner's Association had attempted to prevent the homeowner of the surviving home from replacing his wooden roof due to aesthetic concerns. Credit: Richard Halsey The following article is a serialized story of the decade-long effort to convince intransigent gove...

The following article is a serialized story of the decade-long effort to convince intransigent government officials in San Diego County that science matters and that the region’s native chaparral ecosystem has value. In the name of fire protection, the county attempted to establish a plan that could have allowed it to clear tens of thousands of acres of native habitat without proper oversight as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The story is timely because of the curre...

The following article is a serialized story of the decade-long effort to convince intransigent government officials in San Diego County that science matters and that the region’s native chaparral ecosystem has value. In the name of fire protection, the county attempted to establish a plan that could have allowed it to clear tens of thousands of acres of native habitat without proper oversight as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The story is timely because of the curre...

The following article is a serialized story of the decade-long effort to convince intransigent government officials in San Diego County that science matters and that the region’s native chaparral ecosystem has value. In the name of fire protection, the county attempted to establish a plan that could have allowed it to clear tens of thousands of acres of native habitat without proper oversight as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The story is timely because of the curre...

The following article is a serialized story of the decade-long effort to convince intransigent government officials in San Diego County that science matters and that the region’s native chaparral ecosystem has value. In the name of fire protection, the county attempted to establish a plan that could have allowed it to clear tens of thousands of acres of native habitat without proper oversight as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The story is timely because of the curre...

“We have allowed things to grow that turn into green. As you know, or may not know, 200 years ago our back hills were covered in redwood trees. Well, lumber companies came in and cut them all down. And they replaced those with pine trees.” - Supervisor Bill Horn, January 7, 2003, San Diego County Board of Supervisors meeting. (Historically, redwood groves have never existed in San Diego County. The most southerly grove is in Big Sur, 400 miles to the north.) The following article is a seriali...