Thank you for elevating Wildfire Preparedness to a full month of recognition.
After ten years of working within Lake County’s resiliency landscape, I’ve seen how much coordination already happens among our local partners, often with very limited resources.
In the past year, we’ve also seen Lake County take a serious interest in successful regional models.
Several Supervisors have spoken highly of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s structure, and last month nearly forty residents came to hear the Manager of the Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network speak in Cobb.
That turnout showed something important: our community is already thinking — and acting — in regional terms.
If Lake County intends to pursue recognition as its own region within the state, then May 2026 is the right moment to begin formalizing the governance framework that would make that possible. The state consistently directs funding toward regions that demonstrate clear, documented collaboration. We already have the partners — the RRA, the Fire Safe Council, COAD, and the work underway through CLERC’s Regional Priority Initiative. What we lack is a formal structure that shows Sacramento we are ready to operate as a unified regional body.
I urge the Board to use Wildfire Preparedness Month as the launch point for developing a Master Stewardship MOU among these partners. This would serve as a regional governance pilot for Lake County — turning our informal coordination into a durable, recognized framework. It would also demonstrate that Lake County is prepared for the state’s capacity‑building programs and the regional funding streams that other counties have been able to access for years.
If we want the state to treat Lake County as a region, we must show that we are already building the governance of one.
Magdalena Valderrama
Operations Director
Seigler Springs Community Redevelopment Association
To the Board of Supervisors:
Thank you for elevating Wildfire Preparedness to a full month of recognition.
After ten years of working within Lake County’s resiliency landscape, I’ve seen how much coordination already happens among our local partners, often with very limited resources.
In the past year, we’ve also seen Lake County take a serious interest in successful regional models.
Several Supervisors have spoken highly of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s structure, and last month nearly forty residents came to hear the Manager of the Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network speak in Cobb.
That turnout showed something important: our community is already thinking — and acting — in regional terms.
If Lake County intends to pursue recognition as its own region within the state, then May 2026 is the right moment to begin formalizing the governance framework that would make that possible. The state consistently directs funding toward regions that demonstrate clear, documented collaboration. We already have the partners — the RRA, the Fire Safe Council, COAD, and the work underway through CLERC’s Regional Priority Initiative. What we lack is a formal structure that shows Sacramento we are ready to operate as a unified regional body.
I urge the Board to use Wildfire Preparedness Month as the launch point for developing a Master Stewardship MOU among these partners. This would serve as a regional governance pilot for Lake County — turning our informal coordination into a durable, recognized framework. It would also demonstrate that Lake County is prepared for the state’s capacity‑building programs and the regional funding streams that other counties have been able to access for years.
If we want the state to treat Lake County as a region, we must show that we are already building the governance of one.
Magdalena Valderrama
Operations Director
Seigler Springs Community Redevelopment Association