March 2023 Lunch Program

This month we will be joined by Lisa Worthington, Chief of Vegetation and Wildfire Management at Caltrans, who will discuss Caltrans' push for fire resilient roadways. Caltrans has long practiced vegetation control of weeds and grasses along the edges of state highways to ensure drivers have an unobstructed view of guardrail, signs, barriers and lane striping. In the last several years, however, as climate change has begun to grip California with extreme droughts and disastrous wildfires, Caltrans re-examined its historic vegetation control practices and embarked on a more comprehensive and aggressive fuels reduction strategy to reduce wildfire ignition probability and establish shaded fuel breaks along travel routes it maintains.

Caltrans also is supporting a broader Fire-Resilient Roadways campaign, joining other local, state and federal agencies in Governor Gavin Newsom’s California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force. Amid changing climate conditions in the state that help spawn larger, more destructive fires, the task force is countering with a strategy to build the resilience of the natural environment along roadways. As a result of the task force, Caltrans is aligned to receive technical insight from Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service, tribal representatives and local fire officials who practice fire prevention and natural resource management.

The task force released the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan in January 2021. The comprehensive report establishes a series of goals to protect communities and forests from fire, and assigns participating entities, including Caltrans, to work on a 100-point action plan to reduce fire fuels buildup in California.

DATE: Thursday, March 30, 2023.

TIME: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm

In-person attendees may arrive at 11:30am for networking and lunch. The program will begin promptly at 12:00pm.

LOCATION:

SACOG Board Room, 3rd Floor

1415 L Street, Suite 300

Sacramento, CA 95814.

OR

Virtually via Zoom.

COSTS:

WTS Sacramento is proud to offer complimentary lunch programs for our Chapter's active members. If you are not a member, scroll down and learn how to become one today!

Pricing options are as follows.

Virtual Pricing

Members: Free

Students: Free

Non-Members (Public & Private): $10

In-Person Pricing

Members: Free

Students: $15

Non-Members (Public & Private): $25

Register Now by Friday, March 24th to attend.

REGISTRATION NOTES:

·    All in-person WTS Member no-shows will be charged the full in-person non-member price unless a cancellation notice is provided 48 hours in advance.

·    A WTS Member may not have a non-member take their place.

·    A refund will not be offered if you registered to attend in-person and decide to attend virtually instead.

·    We will be unable to accommodate walk-ins. Please register in advance to attend.

Questions? Please contact our Hospitality Chair Ellen Tiedemann.