Changemaker
Margo Robbins
TL;DR
Margo Robbins runs the Cultural Fire Management Council, which is putting Yurok cultural burning back to work on Yurok reservation and ancestral land.
Margo Robbins is executive director of the Cultural Fire Management Council, a community based non-profit organization working on fire use and cultural resource management. Its stated mission is to make cultural burning practical again on the Yurok Reservation and Yurok ancestral lands, which it says leads to a healthier ecosystem for plants and animals, long term fire protection for residents, and support for traditional Yurok hunting and gathering. In Giants Rising she is described as using controlled burns to help heal and fortify north coast forests.
Margo Robbins is executive director of the Cultural Fire Management Council, which works to make Yurok cultural burning practical again on Yurok reservation and ancestral lands.
Why OGSP Recommends It
Margo Robbins shows how to use fire for forest preservation. She's the executive director of the Cultural Fire Management Council, and she brings controlled burns back to Yurok territory. Instead of trying to prevent fires, she manages deliberate burns across the reservation and ancestral lands.
She runs this program to hit four specific targets. The controlled burns clear brush to give residents long-term protection against wildfires. The fire restores the ecosystem. It clears land to support traditional Yurok hunting and gathering. It also functions as direct cultural resource management.
Related Resources
Key Takeaways
- Cultural burning is deliberate fire used as land care, and the Council exists to make that practice possible again on Yurok reservation and ancestral lands.
- The Council states four purposes for the work, a healthier ecosystem, long term fire protection for residents, support for traditional hunting and gathering, and furthering cultural resource management.
- The film’s own site credits her with using the practice to heal and fortify north coast forests.
- The Yurok Tribe’s own announcement of a Giants Rising screening lists her as executive director of the Cultural Fire Council.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is cultural burning?
It is the deliberate use of fire as land care, practiced by Yurok people on their own land. The Cultural Fire Management Council exists to make that practice possible again on the Yurok Reservation and ancestral lands.
What is the Cultural Fire Management Council?
A community based non-profit organization furthering fire use and cultural resource management, led by Margo Robbins.
Why does cultural burning help with wildfire?
The Council’s own stated mission gives long term fire protection for residents as one of the outcomes it is working toward, alongside a healthier ecosystem for plants and animals.
Is Margo Robbins in Giants Rising?
Yes. The film’s own site describes her as using the indigenous practice of controlled burns to help heal and fortify north coast forests.