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SJV Policy Briefs

Photo depicts trees that survived a fire, surrounded by ash on the ground.
November 4, 2025

Wildfires are growing more frequent and severe across the western United States, and California's Sierra Nevada is ground zero. Decades of fire suppression have left these forests overstocked and...

Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
September 11, 2025

When Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe arrived at UC Merced in 2009, she and her husband, Professor Teamrat Ghezzehei, were leaving major research institutions to join a brand-new campus in California’s...

Photo depicts a silhouette of California firefighters battling a lightning-caused fire in 2020.
September 3, 2025

Lightning from thunderstorms rolling through Central California on Sept. 2 ignited numerous wildfires, including several large fires in the Sierra Nevada foothills that had burned more than 19 square...