Bryant Baker

Director of Conservation & Research at Los Padres ForestWatch

Bryant Baker is the Director of Conservation & Research at Los Padres ForestWatch, a nonprofit organization based in Santa Barbara, California dedicated to protecting the Los Padres National Forest and other public lands in the region. Bryant has co-authored several peer-reviewed papers on fire ecology and management in shrubland and forest ecosystems in California and the western United States. His maps on land use, wildfire, and other conservation issues have been published by the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Tribune, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Montana Free Press, Mother Jones, and other media outlets. In addition to his conservation work and research, Bryant is a plant and landscape photographer—specializing in post-fire habitats and native plants in California—whose work has appeared in books, magazines, and newspapers across the region.

Fire is an inevitable feature of our local landscape. Fortunately, the ecosystems here are well-adapted to periodic fires, even those that are large and intense. Many plants can resprout after fire or have seeds that germinate in response to high heat. But how can we best adapt our communities to withstand the flames and embers? Research over the past few decades has actually found numerous solutions to this seemingly intractable problem. These are solutions that we can start implementing today, though they require a better collective understanding of how and why fires affect structures and neighborhoods.”