May Revise Budget Proposes Extending Cap-and-Trade and Shifting $1.5 Billion for Wildfire
May Revise Budget Proposes Extending Cap-and-Trade and Shifting $1.5 Billion from GGRF for Wildfire Prevention and Protection
The May Revision of the Governor’s budget proposes an extension of the Cap-and-Trade program that is best captured in a renaming of the program to the Cap-and-Invest program and enshrined in clear guiding principles that enable a stable and predictable price on carbon pollution to drive deeper investments in carbon reduction and clean technologies.
The May Revision proposes to shift $1.54 billion from the General Fund to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to support CAL FIRE’s fire prevention, fire control, and resource management activities on an ongoing basis. This proposal aligns with the polluter-pays principle in which carbon emitters will fund the state’s world-class forestry and fire protection programs in the face of wildfires that have become increasingly destructive because of climate change. The proposal also includes a General Fund backstop to protect CAL FIRE’s operations in the event Cap-and-Invest auction proceeds fall below projected revenues. To address the projected budget shortfall, the May Revision includes General Fund solutions to achieve a balanced budget, including a reversion of $31.5 million General Fund appropriated for the acquisition of property for a new CAL FIRE training center. CAL FIRE is exploring more cost-effective alternatives that will meet the same training capacity goals as the new additional training center project through a combination of expanding and upgrading existing training facilities and utilizing newly identified long-term lease opportunities to minimize delays in training output.
Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition Publishes 2024 Annual Report
Report Highlights Significant Advances in Emergency Wildfire Recovery, Research and Restoration
Officials from the State of California, USFS, National Park Service, Tule River Indian Tribe of California, Save the Redwoods League and other members of the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition (GSLC) recently announced significant progress in their work to protect the largest trees on Earth from extreme wildfires. In its 2024 progress report, the GSLC confirms coalition partners have, since 2022, conducted restoration activities in more than half of the world’s sequoia groves and planted more than 617,000 native trees.
First Set of Projects Fast-tracked as Part of Governor’s Emergency Proclamation on Wildfire
CNRA and CalEPA Identify First Set of Fast-tracked Projects as Part of Governor’s Emergency Proclamation on Wildfire
New Streamlined Process:
Governor Newsom issued an Emergency Proclamation (Proclamation) on March 1, 2025, to confront the severe ongoing risk of catastrophic wildfires that threatens public safety across California. The Proclamation authorizes the Secretaries of the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to determine which projects are eligible for suspension of certain State of California statutory and regulatory requirements to expedite critical fuels reduction projects, while at the same time protecting public resources and the environment. The Task Force has established a website that includes eligibility criteria, FAQs, and a link to the application to request a determination of eligibility for suspension of relevant State of California statutory and regulatory requirements. The Secretaries also hosted a virtual briefing on the Proclamation and the process.
First Set of Approved Projects:
Just one week after applications opened, CNRA and CalEPA identified a 450-acre collaborative wildfire resilience project in Humboldt County as the first project to be determined eligible for streamlining. Three projects totaling 882 acres have been approved to date, spanning from the northern California coast to Sierra Nevada Mountains and all the way down to San Diego. Each of these projects involve tribes and other partners, natural resource managers and fire districts. Here is an overview of the first set of approved projects.
- The Prosper Ridge Community Wildfire Resilience Project in Humboldt County is the first approved project under the Governor’s emergency proclamation on wildfire. This collaborative state, federal, and tribal project will treat nearly 450 acres with a combination of mechanical thinning, manual treatments, and prescribed fire.
- The Sycuan Wildfire Resiliency Project covers over 240 acres in San Diego County and aims to protect the Sycuan Reservation from wildfire by reducing fire hazard, ensuring defensible space, and providing safe egress with the use of 300 grazing goats.
- Vedanta Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project will reduce wildfire risk, improve forest health and enhance landscape resilience within the WUI, reducing risk of crown fires spans across 190 acres near Lake Tahoe.
These projects are focused on removing flammable dead or dying trees, creating strategic fuel breaks, creating safe egress along roadways, manual and mechanical removal of ladder fuels and beneficial fire use. Approved project location maps and documentation will be made available on the Task Force website.
Rancheria Celebrates Achievement as the State’s 1,000th Firewise Community
Table Mountain Rancheria Celebrates Achievement as the State’s 1,000th Firewise Community During Wildfire Preparedness Week
Table Mountain Rancheria, located in Fresno County, has been announced as the 1,000th Firewise USA® community in the state during this year’s Wildfire Preparedness Week celebration. This recognition by the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) highlights the commitment the community has taken to ensure that wildfire risk is reduced and that residents are prepared. Governor Newsom declared May 4-10 as “Wildfire Preparedness Week” with the theme, “Building a Fire-Ready Future: Strengthening Our Defenses, Together,” to emphasize the importance of both collaborative efforts and individual responsibility in reducing and managing wildfire risk. CAL FIRE’s readyforwildfire.org website hosts an array of preparedness resources.
CARB Publishes Annual Report on California Climate Investments
CARB Publishes Annual Report on California Climate Investments as Governor Newsom and California Legislature Seek Extension of Cap-and-Trade Program
May 7, 2025 –
Annual Report on California Climate Investments:
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) published its annual report on California Climate Investments using Cap-and-Trade proceeds. According to the report, nearly $33 billion has been raised from Cap-and-Trade to fund climate solutions in communities across the state; of this amount, $12.8 billion projects have been implemented under 117 programs administered by 27 agencies. Along with the report, CARB released a general fact sheet documenting cumulative project achievements through November 2024 including $1.5 billion invested in wildfire prevention, forest health and prescribed burning activities and 1.6 million acres of land conserved or restored.
Extension of Cap-and-Trade Program:
Prior to the report’s publication, Governor Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore McGuire and Assembly Speaker Rivas announced they will seek an extension of the Cap-and-Trade Program during this legislative year. The program is currently set to expire in 2030 and requires extension by the Legislature. As the Governor noted in his proposed budget, extending the program this year can provide the market with greater certainty, attract stable investment, further California’s climate leadership and set the state on a clear path to achieve its 2045 carbon-neutrality goal.
Senator Padilla and Western Senators Introduce Fix Our Forests Act to Reduce Wildfire Risk
Senator Padilla and Western Senators Introduce Bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act to Reduce Wildfire Risk
April 11, 2025 – U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Wildfire Caucus and Senators John Curtis (R-Utah), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) introduced the Fix Our Forests Act. This bipartisan legislation aims to combat catastrophic wildfires, restore forest ecosystems, and make federal forest management more efficient and responsive. The bill reflects months of bipartisan negotiations to find consensus on how to best accelerate and improve forest management practices, streamline environmental reviews, and strengthen partnerships between federal agencies, states, tribes, and private stakeholders. Key provisions specific to California include:
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- Establishing a Wildfire Intelligence Center to serve as a national hub for wildfire intelligence, prediction, coordination, and response. This joint office would be comprised of the Departments of Agriculture, the Interior, and Commerce that is modeled after the National Weather Service. The center would modernize and unify wildfire management by leveraging real-time data, science, and interagency collaboration to better prepare for wildfires, assist with decision-support during a crisis, inform recovery, and streamline federal wildfire response.
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- Establishing an interagency program to coordinate federal wildfire risk reduction efforts across 10 federal agencies through research, development of fire-resistant construction standards, hazard mitigation, and public-private partnerships. The program would provide a uniform application for multiple wildfire-related grants, streamline technical assistance, and mandate coordination with non-federal stakeholders.
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- Increasing the use of prescribed fire on both federal and non-federal lands by prioritizing large, cross-boundary projects near wildland-urban interfaces, Tribal lands, high-risk fire zones, or critical habitats. It also strengthens the prescribed fire workforce by streamlining supervisory certification requirements and enhancing interoperability between federal and non-federal practitioners.
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- Allowing electric utilities with permits or easements on National Forest System or BLM land to cut and remove vegetation near power lines without requiring a separate timber sale (if done in compliance with applicable plans and environmental laws). If the vegetation is sold, proceeds must be returned to the federal government.
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- Streamlining land management projects by authorizing emergency authorities to increase the pace and scale of wildfire risk reduction projects on federal land. It includes appropriate guardrails to avoid abuse of these authorities and prohibits using emergency authorities for projects not aimed primarily at reducing wildfire risk or protecting communities. This would Increase the acreage limit of streamlined projects for wildfire resilience projects, fuel breaks, and insect and disease projects from 3,000 acres to 10,000 acres.
Governor Signs Legislation Investing $170M for Wildfire Prevention
Governor Newsom Signs Legislation Investing $170 Million for California Conservancies to Prevent Catastrophic Wildfires
April 14, 2025 – Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 100, which allocates over $170 million in accelerated funding to conservancies for forest and vegetation management across California. The bill also allocates $10 million to the Karuk Tribe to construct a first-of-its-kind Regional Fire Resiliency Center in northeastern Humboldt County. Funding to State conservancies includes:
• $30,904,000 to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy
• $23,524,000 to the California Tahoe Conservancy
• $31,349,000 to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
• $30,904,000 to the State Coastal Conservancy
• $30,904,000 to the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy
• $23,524,000 to the San Diego River Conservancy
In addition, Governor Newsom signed an executive order to ensure that the wildfire safety projects funded under AB 100 benefit from streamlining under a previous emergency proclamation issued in March.
USFS Partners with Sierra Pacific Industries to Reduce Wildfire Risk
USFS Initiates New Public-Private Partnership with Sierra Pacific Industries to Reduce Wildfire Risk
February 26, 2025 – The US Forest Service announced a $75 million Stewardship Agreement with Sierra Pacific Industries for the construction and maintenance of strategically placed fuel breaks on national forests in California and Oregon. This investment significantly expands upon efforts to create a network of fuel breaks across private and federal land to protect communities, reduce wildfire risk, and promote rural prosperity. The agreement will initiate the process to develop, construct and maintain shaded fuel break projects over a three-year period in California, adding about 400 miles to the existing 2,200-mile network of interconnected fuel breaks across private and federal land. Fuel break project locations were selected in partnership with the Forest Service and CAL FIRE to protect lives, property, critical water infrastructure, and the environment.
Recap of Virtual Briefing on Executing the Emergency Proclamation
Recap of Virtual Briefing on Fast-Tracking Wildfire Safety Projects and Expanding Beneficial Fire
On March 1, 2025 Governor Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency to expedite projects that will protect California communities from catastrophic wildfire. The proclamation includes:
- Streamlining environmental regulations, including CEQA and the Coastal Act, as needed to expedite fuels reduction projects. Projects include vegetation and tree removal, adding fuel breaks, prescribed fire, and more.
- Allowing non-state entities to conduct approved fuels reduction work with expedited and streamlined approval.
- Directing state agencies to submit recommendations for increasing the pace and scale of prescribed fire.
- Increasing the California Vegetation Treatment Program’s (CalVTP) efficiency and utilization in order to continue promoting rapid environmental review for large wildfire risk reduction treatments.
Questions on Project Streamlining Requests: FuelsReductionSOE@resources.ca.gov
Beneficial Fire Recommendations: BeneficialFireInput@resources.ca.gov
Sierra Nevada Conservancy Awards $2.3 Million to 40 Acre Conservation League Forest Health Project
Sierra Nevada Conservancy Awards $2.3 Million to 40 Acre Conservation League Forest Health Project
March 6, 2025 – The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) awarded a grant of $2.3 million to the 40 Acre Conservation League to complete forest health work on its 650-acre property just west of Emigrant Gap in Placer County. The grant will pay for fuels-reduction treatment on 189 acres, complementing 374 acres currently being treated under a grant from the Wildlife Conservation Board. The project will reduce overgrown stand density, reduce brush and ladder fuels, improve existing tree health and species structure, replant native species, and improve wildlife habitat. As the only Black-led land conservancy in California, the 40 Acre Conservation League has a dual mission of conserving and restoring natural lands and developing inclusive and welcoming access for recreational and educational opportunities in nature.