California coastal prairie is a grassland ecosystem that stretches from the Channel Islands in southern California to just north of the Oregon border. Coastal prairies are within 100 km (~60 miles) of the coast and under 350 m (~985 ft) in elevation, and located in areas that receive some moisture from the marine fog layer. This ecosystem is rich in plant diversity, with over 300 native species and supports many animals including birds, small mammals, bobcats, and coyotes.

Coastal prairies evolved with disturbances like fire, grazing, and small animal burrowing, which prevent invasion by shrubs and trees. Historically along the Central Coast, prairies burned naturally by lightning ignitions every 135 years, then later through Indigenous burning every 1-15 years for millennia. Over the past few centuries, burning ceased due to fire suppression policies, however more opportunties are now expanding the use of “beneficial fire” to reduce vegetative fuels and mitigate wildfire risk.

Prescribed fire is used as a tool to manage coastal prairies by promoting Indigenous cultural values, implementing buffers around forests to slow the spread of wildfire, preventing woody shrub encroachment, and helping facilitate the recycling of soil nutrients. Despite these benefits, uncertainty remains regarding how fire timing, intensity, and duration affect vegetation composition and carbon storage in coastal prairies.

Exploring whether prescribed fire can be an effective tool for restoring and managing prairies along the Central Coast requires regional collaboration and coordination among industry professionals, universities, and land managers. We organized the Coastal Prairie Fire Working Group with over 25 agencies to share knowledge and prioritize research about how fire affects prairies. This website synthesizes the existing literature on prairie fire ecology, provides practical recommendations for land managers, shares results from relevant research, and highlights a new mapping tool.

If you would like more information or to participate in this working group, contact Georgia Vasey.