Moore Foundation launches $110 million wildfire resilience initiative

24 February 2023

Published by: https://philanthropynewsdigest.org

USA – The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in Palo Alto, California, has announced the launch of a six-year, $110 million initiative to address wildfire resilience.

According to the foundation, there are numerous ecological benefits when fire is able to fulfill its essential role, both reducing extreme wildfire events and, when conditions allow, increasing beneficial fire, such as cultural burns, prescribed burns, and managed wildfire. Yet, not all wildfire policies have advanced at pace with scientific understanding and persistent fire suppression has unintentionally made people and communities more vulnerable.

To address those issues, the Wildfire Resilience Initiative will support two planned phases to address the role of fire in western North American landscapes. Targeted funding from the initiative will support integration of wildfire resilience efforts across sectors; increased knowledge and understanding of wildfire and changing fire regimes; accelerated advances in science, technology, and data integration; ensuring that communities can coexist with the impacts of wildfire and smoke; fire and ecosystem stewardship models; science-based key indicators, implementation dashboards, and outcome scorecards of wildfire resiliency; and a framework that inspires others to collaborate and/or invest in ways that augment and accelerate collective goals.

“This initiative aims to help speed a systemic and strategic transformation in the role that fire plays—and is understood to play—across western North America,” said Moore Foundation program director Genny Biggs. “Sustained wildfire resilience will mean increased ecosystem health and community security. Ultimately, we want communities to be able to coexist with fire, not as an unwanted, destructive threat, but as an essential, vital part of our landscapes.”