**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** WILDFIRE DISASTERS ARE INCREASING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE. RECENT SEVERE WILDFIRE SEASONS IN THE WESTERN US HAVE HIGHLIGHTED THE NEED TO IDENTIFY ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING FIRE AND LANDSCAPES. ONE OF THE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS GAINING TRACTION IS NOT NEW, RATHER, IT IS A RENEWAL OF HOW ECOSYSTEMS EVOLVED OVER THE HOLOCENE. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES APPLIED FIRE BROADLY ACROSS NORTH AMERICA PRIOR TO EUROPEAN COLONIZATION, SHAPING THE FIRE-ADAPTED ECOSYSTEMS PRESENT TODAY. THIS STEWARDSHIP PRACTICE WAS NEARLY LOST DUE TO US INDIAN REMOVAL POLICIES. HOWEVER, MANY TRIBES STILL RETAIN SOME KNOWLEDGE OF FIRE STEWARDSHIP AND A DESIRE TO RESTORE CULTURAL BURNING PRACTICES. GIVEN THE COMPLEXITIES OF MODERN SOCIETY AND CHANGED CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, THERE IS A NEED TO NOT ONLY DEVELOP PARTNERSHIPS AND APPROACHES TO REINTRODUCE CULTURAL AND PRESCRIBED FIRE, BUT ALSO ASSESS THE OUTCOMES OF SUCH FIRE TO DETERMINE IF IT MEETS THE NEEDS OF BOTH CULTURAL PRACTITIONERS AND WESTERN LAND MANAGERS. THIS PROJECT WILL DOCUMENT AND LEARN FROM THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUCH A PARTNERSHIP IN CALIFORNIA. THE SIERRA SEQUOIA BURN COOPERATIVE (SSBC) FORMED IN 2019 TO RESTORE CULTURAL AND PRESCRIBED FIRE TO BOTH TRIBAL AND NON-TRIBAL PRIVATE LANDS IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA. WE WILL WORK WITH THE SSBC, INCLUDING THE FOUR MEMBER TRIBES AND OTHER KEY COMMUNITY PARTNERS, TO DOCUMENT HOW THEY PLAN AND IMPLEMENT A PRESCRIBED FIRE TRAINING EXCHANGE (TREX) AND COMPLETE AN INITIAL GROUP OF PRESCRIBED AND CULTURAL BURNS. WE WILL CO-IDENTIFY BOTH CULTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS USED TO DETERMINE BURNING PARAMETERS WITH TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE KEEPERS, AND MEASURE FIRE-INDUCED CHANGES IN THOSE CULTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL METRICS. FURTHER, WE WILL DEVELOP A FRAMEWORK AND RESOURCE TOOLKIT FOR REPLICATING THESE EFFORTS ELSEWHERE USING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE. FINALLY, WE WILL MONITOR THE CHANGES IN COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDING, ACCEPTANCE, AND USE OF BENEFICIAL FIRE BEYOND THE INITIAL TREX EVENT. THE OVERARCHING GOAL IS TO ENABLE ADDITIONAL COMMUNITIES SEEKING TO RENEW INDIGENOUS FIRE STEWARDSHIP TO DEVELOP PLANS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS THAT FACILITATE INCREASED CULTURAL AND PRESCRIBED FIRE AND REDUCE THE POTENTIAL FOR WILDFIRE DISASTERS.