The Obispeño Chumash were a highly complex non-agricultural group adept at manipulating the environment. They utilized an abundance of plant and animal resources which could be harvested for food, fuel, material items, and building materials. They also employed periodic burning to enhance their resources to encourage the growth of desirable plants, increase plant diversity, and to improve conditions for essential acorn-producing oaks. To the eyes of a Chumash, the land would have appeared more open and have greater variety than it does now.