PRIVATE LANDOWNER ASSISTANCE
12.2 million acres of forestland in our state belong to private landowners, creating the need to increase access to technical and financial assistance to forestland owners for forest management planning, fuels reduction, prescribed fire, and forest recovery following wildfires. The Private Landowner Work Group was created to address a common framework and shared goals to expand forest management across non-industrial private forestlands and to support private landowners in wildfire resilience initiatives.
resources
Financial Assistanceprograms
California Forest Improvement Program (CFIP): CAL FIRE provides eligible private forest landowners with technical and cost-share financial assistance for planning, reforestation, and resource management.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP): USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service provides eligible private forest landowners with cost share funding for a variety of forest improvement practices.
Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP): USDA-Farm Service Agency helps private landowners restore forests damaged by natural disasters through cost-share payments.
My Sierra Woods – A program of the American Forest Foundation, MSW provides technical and financial assistance for family forest landowners across Northern California.
Conservation Assistance Through NRCS — 2023 Inflation Reduction Act Funding
Technical Assistance & Resources
UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE): UCEE works collaboratively with California landowners to support responsible forest stewardship.
California Resource Conservation District (RCD): RCD’s partner with local communities, individuals, and others in planning, designing, permitting, monitoring, and grant application support for land management projects.
California Tree Farm Program
– a program that gives landowners the tools they need to be effective stewards of their forests
Fire Safe Councils: Local organizations throughout California that educate homeowners about community wildfire preparedness activities while working with local fire officials to design and implement projects that increase the wildfire survivability of their communities. They are supported by the California Fire Safe Council (CFSC) which provides assistance to community wildfire preparedness groups and maintains a Grant Clearinghouse.
Education
The Forestland Steward Newsletter
Forest Management Handbook for Small Parcel Landowners
Forest Stewardship Workshops from UC Extension
Guide to Planning and Permitting Fuel-Reduction Projects on Private Lands
Private Forest Landowner Assistance Workshops
Work Group Products
Report to the Task Force: Goals and Barriers to Managing Small Private Forestlands
The Private Landowner Assistance Work Group previewed the California Implementation Strategy to Improve Assistance to Small Private Owners.
Work Group: Private Landowner Assistance
Partnering Organizations
Work Group leads
American Forest Foundation – Taylor Timbals
Feather River Resource Conservation District – Michael Hall
El Dorado Resource Conservation District – Mark Egbert
Forest Landowners of California – Claire McAdams
Mast Reforestation – Chantz Joyce
University of California Cooperative Extension – Susie Kocher
University of California Cooperative Extension – Daylin Wade
U.S Forest Service – Dana Walsh
Water Board – Griffin Perea
Stewart McMorrow, CAL FIRE
Chris Zimny, NRCS-CA
Work Group Facilitator
Sophia Lemmo, California Association of Resource Conservation Districts
Key Actions Assigned:
1.9 – 1.15