Memorandum
Date: June 23, 2026
To: The Honorable Brad Rasmussen, Chair, Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Jessica Pyska, Supervisor, District 5
Brad Rasmussen, Supervisor, District 4
Subject: Consideration and Review of Adopting California's Joint Strategy for Sustainable Outdoor Recreation & Wildfire Resilience as a Guiding Document for Resource Protection, Community Investment, Economic Development, and Public Safety
Executive Summary:
Lake County, like many communities and regions in rural Northern California, has an economic model that relies on recreation, tourism, and the natural environment. These vital natural resources and the infrastructure that supports them are under pressure from both overutilization and the looming threat of catastrophic wildfires.
While great progress is being made toward wildfire and landscape resilience through federal, Tribal, State, and Local investments, Tribal and Local governments face the daunting challenge of planning for community well-being and for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery while working with numerous Local, State, Tribal, and federal agencies and jurisdictions and considering impacts on both residents and visitors. Given the current and anticipated wildfire risk in Lake County and California, recovery from catastrophic fire might not be feasible without taking a new planning approach that better aligns risk mitigation for both wildfire and outdoor recreation.
"California's Joint Strategy for Sustainable Outdoor Recreation & Wildfire Resilience" provides a playbook for that new planning approach. The California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force published the Strategy in March 2023. It includes four goals and a number of key actions intended to help guide Local government actions in aligning landscape resilience efforts for wildfire and recreation management. By adopting this Strategy, the County of Lake would join other local governments and special districts in recognizing t...
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