View as Webpage

FUSEE's Monthly Newsletter


February 2025

In this issue:


Act Now: Stand With Tribes for Fire Justice

Karuk Tribe fire practitioner in California. Source: Bill Tripp

Take 10 minutes to stand for Tribal fire sovereignty and support putting more beneficial fire, including cultural burning, on the ground in the Pacific Northwest. 


The Forest Service is accepting comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) until March 17, 2025. You don’t have to live in the Pacific Northwest to express your values and concerns to the Forest Service. 


The USFS proposes to begin new relationships with Tribes and an end to its old fire exclusion policy. The DEIS makes strides towards ecological fire management by authorizing Indigenous cultural burning and allowing wildfires to be managed for ecological benefits instead of being aggressively suppressed. Your comments on the DEIS in support of Tribal inclusion and fire inclusion are important and needed. The NWFP offers a great opportunity to shift the fire management paradigm.


Check out our comment guide toolkit at the link below for a letter template, background on the NWFP, and more information. There is also more information at our website here.

Click here for the toolkit and to submit your comment!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Click on each event to learn more

FUSEE Helping Lead the Pacific Northwest Forest Climate Alliance

FUSEE is one of many organizational members and leaders supporting the work of the Pacific Northwest Forest Climate Alliance (PNWFCA), a network of organizations and activists working at the intersection of forest defense and climate justice. PNWFCA members include more than 85 groups ranging from established organizations with decades of experience to small volunteer-led groups, as well as hundreds of individual activists from across OR, WA, ID, and CA.


FUSEE’s Engagement Director, Helena Virga, serves on the Steering Committee and helps lead work of the entire Alliance. Helena also co-leads the Wildfire Working Group that meets every month to discuss collaborative solutions and projects addressing wildfire issues in the PNW. 


Currently, the Wildfire Working Group is helping organize around the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) Amendment. Check out the toolkit the group made to convey the importance of the NWFP and how to take action, like writing a comment letter to the Forest Service. If you are interested in participating in the Wildfire Working Group, please email helena@fusee.org.


FUSEE’s own Timothy Ingalsbee recently attended the PNWFCA winter gathering in Ashford, WA to strategize around 2025 planning and messaging, the importance of environmental groups leaning more into Tribal sovereignty solidarity work, the NWFP, powerful collaboration building, and more.


Do you live in or close to Eugene, love to party for a cause, and want to support the Alliance? Come join FUSEE on February 28th at the Oregon Wine Lab for the PNWFCA annual party with live music, food, drinks, trivia and more.

Alliance NWFP comment guide

FUSEE's executive director, Timothy Ingalsbee, co- leads a breakout group on Tribal sovereignty and fire inclusion at the PNWFCA winter gathering.

Photo by: Cascadia Wildlands

FUSEE in the News


With the devastation of the January LA fires, FUSEE's knowledge base has been tapped to provide expert quotes and commentary on how to protect communities with fire.

The way L.A. thinks about fires is all wrong, two experts say. They explain how to do better

Los Angeles Times, February 14th


Simple ways to protect OR homes from wildfires

Public News Service, February 3rd


‘We surpassed human limits to stop this’: LA megafires show our approach to fire needs to change

The Guardian, January 22nd


This Bill to Reduce Wildfires Might Actually Make Them Worse

The New Republic, January 27th

See all recent FUSEE in the news stories here

New Spotfire! Blog Posts


We've posted a flurry of new blog posts to our website - commentary and insights on the current political climate related to wildland firefighting, stories from the field, and reflections on personal experiences - from board, staff, and community members.


Send us an email at fusee@fusee.org if you would like to add a blog post to Spotfire!

Check out all our blog posts here

FUSEE’s Newest Program: Firefighter Wellness

Announcing FUSEE newest program… Firefighter Wellness! At FUSEE, we understand that firefighter safety includes caring for physical and mental health. Recognizing the critical challenges faced by the wildland fire community, we are committed to addressing this vital issue head-on.


Check out our new Firefighter Wellness webpage. This web page includes:


  • Information about upcoming Firefighter Wellness retreats
  • A list of mental health providers vetted by Close the Gap Wellness, a leading expert in wildland firefighter mental health
  • An ever-expanding list of resources for wellness and mental health for wildland firefighters
  • Resources for mental health providers serving the wildland fire community
  • And more! 


Interested in what FUSEE’s first Wildland Firefighter Wellness Retreat was like? Check out this blog post from Emily Kostuch, FUSEE's Administrative Manager who attended. We collected data from the participants regarding the impact of the retreat on their wellness (see infographic below). We’d also like to thank our sponsors again: Great Vow Zen Monastery, FireUp, the BESS Foundation, and more for their generosity and support in making this wonderful retreat happen.

Lastly, your monthly meditation curated specifically for the fire community is here again! Check out this guided video meditation about resilience here. We hope you enjoy these monthly meditation offerings. Stay tuned for next month’s extra special edition!

Follow Us on Facebook
Follow Us on Instagram
Please consider making a donation today to support this vital work!

Do you know someone who would like to get our newsletter? Send them here!


Learn more at fusee.org

logo-forweb-wide.png
Facebook  Instagram