“Southern California Wildfires: Protecting Our Homes and the Natural Environment”

I thought that you and the organizations you represent would be interested in the following free presentation and discussion hosted by the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants and the City of Glendale, given the impact of the recent fires in the area.

I have attached a PDF of the flyer and pasted the content below, along with additional background information about our guest presenters/speakers.

We have also invited local public and fire officials throughout the area, so we're hoping to have an interesting discussion over the course of the evening.

Please contact me or Lily Singer at the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants (lili@theodorepayne.org or 818-768-1802) if you require additional information.

Keith Malone
(323) 441-0000
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The Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers & Native Plants and The City of Glendale Department of Public Works present

“Southern California Wildfires: Protecting Our Homes and the Natural Environment,” a special event with Richard W. Halsey, Director, The California Chaparral Institute, and Jon E. Keeley, Ph.D., Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey.

Join two of the region’s most respected experts on fire, local ecology and post-fire regeneration for an evening of information and interchange.

Saturday, November 7
6:30pm to 8:30pm
Clark Magnet High School Auditorium
4747 New York Ave.
La Crescenta 91214

This important and timely program is FREE to the public.

Richard W. Halsey is the Director of the California Chaparral Institute, a nonprofit research and educational organization focusing on the ecology of California's shrubland plant communities, wildland fire, and how Mediterranean-type ecosystems have helped shape human culture. He has given more than 300 presentations over the past five years concerning chaparral ecology, how communities can adapt to fire-prone environments, and the importance of nature education. Mr. Halsey taught biology for over thirty years in both public and private schools and was honored as Teacher of the Year for San Diego City Schools in 1991.

Mr. Halsey earned undergraduate degrees from the University of California in environmental studies and anthropology. During graduate work he received teaching credentials in life, physical and social science and a Master's degree in education. He has also been trained as a Type II wildland firefighter. The second edition of his book, Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California, was awarded the 2008 Best Nonfiction-Local Interest Book by the San Diego Book Awards Association.


Dr. Keeley is a Research Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, stationed at Sequoia National Park. He earned his Ph.D. in botany and ecology from the University of Georgia in 1977. He also holds a Master's degree in biology from San Diego State University. Prior to this appointment in Sequoia National Park, Dr. Keeley served one year in Washington, D.C. as director of the ecology program for the National Science Foundation.

A professor of biology at Occidental College for 20 years, Dr. Keeley has over 250 publications in national and international scientific journals and books. His research has focused on ecological impacts of wildfires as well as other aspects of plant ecology, including rare plants, rare habitats such as vernal pools, and plant physiology. In 1985 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowshipand is a Fellow of the Southern California Academy of Sciences and an Honorary Lifetime Member of the California Botanical Society. He has served on the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning Environmental Review Board, the State of California Natural Communities Conservation Program (NCCP) Board of Scientific Advisors.