Our Team

Larry Peranich - Founder

I became an environmentalist in my teens, though I didn’t think of it that way. I just knew that hiking in natural areas helped me feel better and that I wanted those areas preserved. I started backpacking in 1990 after moving to San Diego, and developed a love for the national parks and national forests in California.

I became a Republican in my teens because my parents were Republicans. I stayed a Republican because I’m a fiscal conservative/deficit hawk with a libertarian streak.

Wildfires moved me from a casual environmentalist to an activist.

The Cedar Fire, in 2003, burned over 427 square miles in San Diego county, killing 15 people, and destroying over 2200 homes including my next door neighbor’s. This was the largest fire in California’s records - until 2017. In the last 5 years it has been overtaken by 9 fires of up to 1,613 square miles.

Though less important, air pollution from wildfires has forced me to cancel several backpacking trips in the last 3 years, an issue I’d never encountered before.

It is clear that we need to return to a stable climate to limit damage and pollution from fires.