Given the severe threat of catastrophic wildfire risk, the Newsom Administration is moving to expedite fuel reduction projects that protect public safety and communities. Consistent with Governor Newsom’s March 1 State of Emergency Proclamation (Proclamation) the Secretaries of the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) are authorized to determine which projects are eligible for suspension of certain state laws and regulations to expedite critical fuels reduction projects, while at the same time protecting public health and the environment. 

A project is eligible to operate under the suspension of state laws if it meets all four of the following requirements:

1. The primary objective of the project is at least one of these activities:

• • Removal of hazardous, dead, and/or dying trees
  • Removal of vegetation for the creation of strategic fuel breaks as identified by approved fire prevention plans, including without limitation, CAL FIRE Unit Fire Plans or Community Wildfire Preparedness Plans
  • Removal of vegetation for community defensible space
  • Removal of vegetation along roadways, high-ways, and freeways for the creation of safer ingress and egress routes for the public and responders and/or to reduce roadside ignitions
  • Removal of vegetation using cultural traditional ecological knowledge for cultural burning and/or prescribed fire treatments for fuels reduction
  • Maintenance of previously established fuel breaks or fuels modification projects

2. The request for suspension is submitted in the 2025 calendar year.

3. Work will be performed or supervised by qualified responsible parties, such as Registered Professional Foresters, Certified Rangeland Managers, qualified vegetation management contractors, qualified incident commanders, certified arborists, certified burn bosses and authorized cultural burners.

4. Work will follow Best Management Practices (BMPs) and measures identified in the Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan (EPP). 

As identified above, projects that receive suspension must focus on critical fuels reduction to combat catastrophic fires and promote community safety and resiliency. This includes, but is not limited to, projects identified in CAL FIRE Unit Fire Plans, Community Wildfire Preparedness Plans, and Utility Wildfire Mitigation Plans provided they meet the objectives above.

Eligible entities include, but are not limited to, public agencies, Tribes, Resource Conservation Districts, non-governmental organizations, Fire Safe Councils, utilities and professional land managers.

The following state statutes and regulations that fall within the jurisdiction of the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Natural Resources Agency are eligible for suspension under the State of Emergency proclamation:

1. 1. 1. California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code [PRC] Section 21000 et seq.)
      2. California Coastal Act (PRC Section 30000 et seq.)
      3. California Endangered Species Act (Fish and Game Code [FGC] Sections 2050-2115.5); Prohibition of the take of any species of wildlife designated as endangered, threatened, or candidates for listing.
      4. Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreement, notification of significant alteration to stream channel, bank or bed (FGC Section 1600 et seq.)
      5. Native Plant Protection Act (FGC Section 1900 et seq.)
      6. Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act (FGC Section 1927 et seq.)
      7. California Fully Protected Birds (FGC Section 3511)
      8. California Migratory Bird Protection Act (FGC Section 3513)
      9. California Fully Protected Mammals (FGC Section 4700)
      10. California Fully Protected Reptiles and Amphibians (FGC Section 5050)
      11. California Fully Protected Fish (FGC Section 5515)
      12. FGC Sections 5650 and 5652; Deposition of deleterious material into waters of the state.
      13. FGC Section 5901; Fish passage.
      14. FGC Section 5937; Sufficient water for fish.
      15. FGC Section 5948; Obstruction of streams. 
      16. FGC Section 2000; Taking is unlawful except as provided
      17. FGC Sections 3503 and 3503.5; Protection for bird nests and eggs and birds of prey
      18. FGC Section § 86, where “Take” shall be avoided. Take is defined as to hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill, or attempt to hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill.
      19. 14 CCR Section 13001 et seq.; California Coastal Commission Administrative Regulations
      20. California Water Code (CWC) Section 13160 and all regulations pursuant to that section; Water quality certification for discharges to navigable waters
      21. CWC Section 13260 and all regulations pursuant to that section; report of waste discharge requirement for discharges of waste or proposed discharges of waste to waters of the state
      22. 17 CCR Sections 80100-80330; Smoke Management Guidelines for Agricultural and Prescribed Burning
      23. PRC Sections 5024 and 5024.5; State agency consultation

Suspensions apply only to these identified state statutes and regulatory requirements. Applicable local and federal laws and regulations remain in place.

A project proponent completes the online application, which can be found at this website landing page. Completing this application provides the Secretaries and their state agencies all needed information to determine if suspension can be granted. Project proponents will receive notification within 30 calendar days if their application has been approved. 

The request for suspension, made through the online application, must be submitted in the 2025 calendar year. On-the-ground work must begin no later than October 15, 2026. Typically, projects must be completed within two years of initiating work on-the-ground. However, extensions may be allowed for up to five years from the commencement of on-the-ground work for fuels reduction projects that have been awarded funding from the following state grant programs:

• CAL FIRE Wildfire Prevention Grants
• CAL FIRE Forest Health Grants
• California Forest Improvement Program within the Coastal Zone (projects must have fuels reduction as a key objective)
• Climate Bond early action funding (Prop 4)
• Programs funded through Wildfire Resilience Packages in FY 21/22, 22/23, and 23/24

Projects that receive extensions must submit progress reports that are required under their grant agreements to the suspension review teams at CNRA and CalEPA. Additionally, state agencies within CNRA (e.g. CAL FIRE, State Parks, CDFW, State Lands Commission, State Conservancies) are eligible to apply for extensions of up to five years from the commencement of on-the-ground work for projects that they lead and directly implement.

No. Once approved, suspensions remain in effect for the duration of project work.

Projects must meet the eligibility criteria identified above. When applicants submit suspension requests, they attest that project work will comply with BMPs and measures identified in the Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan. Secretarial Determinations are conditioned on compliance with the EPP. Agency staff will have the opportunity to inspect project sites to assess EPP compliance and make recommendations for resource protection. 

For-profit commercial timber operations that do not have as a primary objective one of the six listed above and cited in the State of Emergency proclamation.

Large landscape projects of over 3,000 acres are not eligible for suspension and are advised to pursue permitting through the California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) process.  

The Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan (EPP) can be found here. It identifies the Best Management Practices and measures which must be followed by projects that receive suspensions. The EPP streamlines and simplifies the substantive requirements that would otherwise govern fuels reduction projects through the normal regulatory process. The EPP covers practices such as:

• Access to the project site for inspection 
• Identifying and protecting sensitive resources 
  • Tribal cultural resources
  • Coastal zone sensitive habitat
  • Riparian and water quality
  • Biological resources such as habitat, fish and wildfire
• Measures to control sediment and erosion 
• Procedures when conducting prescribed fire and grazing

No. To ensure a consistent approach for implementation, the Secretaries will condition their determinations on compliance with the Statewide Fuels Reduction EPP; alternative plans developed by others are not being accepted. 

The Governor’s Emergency Order issued on March 1 called on the California Board of Forestry to refine and expand the California Vegetation Treatment Program. The Board of Forestry has taken steps to begin the process of updating the CalVTP, including soliciting input from practitioners on how to improve the process. The updated process could take approximately one year, though the exact timing will depend on the level of input received and the scope of changes to be made.

Please note that the information below is intended as a resource to help applicants navigate their project planning and implementation needs. However, the State provides no assurances that the entities listed below are available for project requests. Please be advised that receiving assistance is not a guarantee that your project will be approved for a State of Emergency Proclamation suspension.

Agency Contacts:

CAL FIRE Regional Unit Forester Contact List

Local CA Department of Fish & Wildlife Contact List

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network Contact List

California Department of Conservation Regional Fire and Forest Capacity (RFFC) Program Contact List:

Map of Grantees 

North Coast Resource Partnership
Rose Roberts – rroberts@northcoastresourcepartnership.org 

North Sacramento Valley Coalition
Greg Conant – greg@glenncountyrcd.org 

Tahoe Conservancy
Christine Aralia – Christine.Aralia@tahoe.ca.gov 

Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
Sarah Kevorkian – sarah.kevorkian@mrca.ca.gov 

Rivers and Mountains Conservancy
Blair Crossman – bcrossman@rmc.ca.gov 

Inland Empire RCD
Susie Kirschner – skirschner@iercd.org 

Inland Empire Community Foundation
David Hernandez – dhernandez@iegives.org 

RCD of Greater San Diego
Stan Hill – stan.hill@rcdsandiego.org 

State Coastal Conservancy
Lilly Allen – lilly.allen@scc.ca.gov  

Irvine Ranch Conservancy
Madi Killebrew – mkillebrew@irconservancy.org

Resources to Find Licensed or Certified Professionals:

Find a Registered Professional Forester

Find a Certified Rangeland Manager

Verify the license of someone you may already working with

Questions can be emailed to FuelsReductionSOE@resources.ca.gov