Life with Fire

Forest Resilience Policy at the State Level with Hilary Franz

Episode Summary

We'll be honest—we've been hoping to talk to Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz since the podcast's inception. Franz is responsible for the management of over six millions acres of public lands and the state's wildland firefighting workforce, and we were pretty excited to finally have the opportunity to have a conversation with her a few weeks ago. We covered topics ranging from the forest resilience measures she's taken while in office, to the All Hands All Lands approach to fuels reduction, to her visions for a more fire-adapted Washington. Life with Fire is based in Bellingham, WA—an admittedly wet place to host a wildfire podcast—so we even spoke a bit about the changing conditions in the west Cascades and how her office is hoping to bring more wildfire awareness to the westside.

Episode Notes

We'll be honest—we've been hoping to talk to Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz since this podcast's inception. Franz is responsible for the management of over six millions acres of public lands and the state's wildland firefighting workforce, so we were pretty excited to finally have the opportunity to have a conversation with her a few weeks ago. 

Our conversation ran the gamut from the forest resilience measures she's taken while in office, to the All Hands All Lands approach to fuels reduction, to her vision for a more fire-adapted Washington. Life with Fire is based in Bellingham, WA—an admittedly wet place to host a wildfire podcast—so we also spoke a bit about the changing conditions in the west Cascades and how her office is hoping to bring more wildfire awareness to the westside. 

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