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Chico State
Chico State

Don Hankins

Smoke rises from burnt clumps of deergrass adjacent to a walkway on the Chico State campus.

Mechoopda Tribe and Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve Partner to Conduct Cultural Burn on Chico State Campus

This collaboration makes the Mechoopda the first tribe to utilize new legislation to carry out a burn on a campus within the California State University System.

Don Hankins leans on a shovel while he smiles and stands beneath a tree during a prescribed fire exercise

Worth Sharing: Hankins Honored for His Work with Cultural Burning

A listing of professional achievements by Chico State faculty, staff, and students.

Trinity Hall's bell tower is visible through a cluster of spring blossoms.

Five Faculty Recognized with Professional Achievement Honors

Faculty from across the University are recognized for their research, scholarly contributions, and excellence in academia.

A group of goats munch on dry grass as a measure to cut back on fire fuels in the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve.

University’s Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve Employing Multiple Fire Mitigation Techniques

In the wake of November’s devastating Camp Fire, California State University, Chico’s Ecological Reserves partnered with Cal Fire, Firestorm, and Terra Fuego to conduct a 70-acre prescribed burn at the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER) in recent weeks.

A giant smoke column is seen exploding from flames on a darkened hillside as a wildfire rages out of control.

The Rise of Megafires

As wildfires grow faster, larger, and more deadly every day, alumni and faculty share professional and personal perspectives on what’s happening, why, and how we can respond.

Land steward coordinator Tom Mello helps with the Big Chico Creek Watershed Tour on April 14.

Putting Himself on the Map: A Nontraditional Student Finds His Place

Tom Mello couldn’t imagine himself as a college student, but after the Great Recession left him without a job and struggling as a single parent, the need for an education morphed into a passion for the physical geography major.