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.
President Trump Orders Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production
President Trump Orders Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production
March 1, 2025 – President Trump signed an executive order which aims to boost domestic timber production. The order directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to:
- Within 30 days, issue new or updated guidance regarding tools to increase timber production, reduce time to deliver timber, and decrease timber supply uncertainty;
- Within 60 days, complete a strategy on USFS and BLM forest management projects to increase speed of approving forestry projects under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA);
- Within 90 days, set a target for the annual amount of timber per year to be offered for sale over the next 4 years;
- Within 120 days, complete the Whitebark Pine Rangewide Programmatic Consultation under section 7 of the ESA;
- Within 180 days, consider adopting categorical exclusions administratively established by other agencies to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act for timber production, forest management, and wildfire risk reduction treatments; and
- Within 280 days, consider establishing a new categorical exclusion for timber thinning and re-establish a categorical exclusion for timber salvage activities.
The order also directs all relevant agencies to eliminate all undue delays within their respective permitting processes related to timber production and use ESA regulations on consultations in emergencies to facilitate timber production. Lastly, the order directs the federal members of the Endangered Species Committee to submit a report that identifies obstacles to domestic timber production related to the ESA.
Additionally, on March 12, 2025, the U.S. EPA announced 31 actions aimed toward environmental deregulation, including reconsideration of exceptional events rulemaking to work with states to prioritize the allowance of prescribed fires within State and Tribal Implementation Plans.
California Signs Cultural Burning Agreement with Karuk Tribe
California Advances Wildfire Resilience and Honors Tribal Sovereignty Through Cultural Burning Agreement with the Karuk Tribe
March 7, 2025 – The Karuk Tribe and the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) have entered into a historic agreement as part of CNRA and CalEPA’s announcement that SB 310 is now in effect. This legislation and agreement acknowledges tribal sovereignty and addresses historical injustices while contributing to the mitigation of catastrophic wildfire by enabling CNRA and local air districts to enter into agreements with federally recognized California Native American tribes to support them in conducting cultural burns in their ancestral territories. For more information, read the FAQ on SB 310.
CNRA will be hosting a webinar about the landmark cultural burn agreement with the Karuk Tribe and SB 310 on April 1, 2025 at 1pm.
California Continues Quick and Effective Action to Assist Los Angeles Fires Recovery
California Continues Quick and Effective Action to Assist Los Angeles Fires Recovery
February 7, 2025 – Governor Newsom has launched historic recovery and rebuilding efforts to accelerate recovery and signed legislation providing over $2.5 billion to support ongoing response and jumpstart recovery efforts for Los Angeles. The Governor has signed 15 executive orders that together are:
- streamlining rebuilding of homes and businesses;
- cutting red tape and suspending permitting requirements under the California Coastal Act;
- removing bureaucratic barriers to provide critical regulatory relief to help fire survivors rebuild, and access essential services;
- providing tax and mortgage relief to impacted communities and businesses, as well as extending tax deadlines;
- fast-tracking temporary housing and protecting tenants; and
- mobilizing debris removal and cleanup and protecting communities from flooding and landslides.
Additionally, State and federal resources have come together to accelerate a safe recovery for Los Angeles:
- The California Conservation Corps (CCC) responded quickly in recovery efforts by installing silt socks and straw wattles around storm drains in the burn zones to keep contaminants found in the ash from washing into the Los Angeles watershed. This was the largest deployment of Corpsmembers in CCC history targeting erosion and contaminant control.
- The California Department of Water Resources deployed over 30 watershed experts and engineers to Los Angeles to support fire mitigation work in burn scar areas and protect downstream communities by keeping toxic runoff out of local watersheds.
- The California Department of Conservation deployed its Watershed Emergency Response Teams to the front lines to quickly assess post fire hazards such as debris flows, flash floods, and falling rocks.
- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is supporting intake of burned and impacted wildlife to rehabilitation centers, as well as relocating wildlife to help expedite recovery for both people and animals. CDFW also mobilized staff and volunteers to rescue a population of endangered Steelhead trout in Topanga Creek.
- California State Parks is working with US EPA, Cal OES, and CalEPA to help the recovery effort by hosting two temporary sites to safely process hazardous household materials removed from properties destroyed by the Palisades Fire.
- The U.S. Forest Service continues ongoing assessment of damage from the Eaton and Hughes fires through the deployment of Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Teams. These teams include scientists, historians and other subject matter experts that identify potential emergency threats on federal lands, such as human life and safety, national forest property, critical natural resources, and critical pre-historic and historic properties, and more. In addition, BAER Teams coordinate with other agencies, who assist businesses, homes and landowners preparing for rain events and potential flooding and debris flow in fire affected areas.
- The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently engaging in emergency stabilization and rehabilitation (ESR) planning following the Border 2 Fire to mitigate the potential impacts of the burned area, such as mud and debris flows, erosion, and other damages. Additionally, BLM assessed impacts of the Hughes Fire and no emergency stabilization or rehabilitation needs were identified.
Senator Padilla Introduces Three Bipartisan Bills to Bolster Fire Resilience and Proactive Mitigation Efforts
Senator Padilla Introduces Three Bipartisan Bills to Bolster Fire Resilience and Proactive Mitigation Efforts
On February 3, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced a package of three bipartisan bills to bolster fire resilience and proactive mitigation efforts. The package includes:
• Wildfire Emergency Act— Would reduce the threat of destructive wildfires through forest restoration, firefighter training, energy resilience retrofits, and wildfire-hardening home modifications in low-income communities. Specifically, the legislation would:
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- provide the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) with a pilot authority to leverage private financing to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration projects;
- authorize funding for programs to expand the forest conservation and wildland firefighting workforce;
- establish an energy resilience program at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure that critical facilities remain active during wildfire disruptions, authorizing up to $100 million for necessary retrofits;
- expand an existing DOE weatherization grant program to provide up to $13,000 to low-income households to make wildfire-hardening retrofits;
- expedite the placement of wildfire detection equipment on the ground, such as sensors or cameras, as well as the use of space-based observation;
- establish a prescribed fire-training center in the West and authorize grants to support training the next generation of foresters and firefighters; and
- authorize up to $50 million to support community grants of up to $50,000 for locally focused land stewardship and conservation.
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• Fire-Safe Electrical Corridors Act— Would allow the USFS to approve the removal of hazardous trees near power lines on federal lands without requiring a timber sale, thereby easing the removal of hazardous trees, and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire. This would allow the USFS to provide standing permission for electrical utilities to cut and remove hazardous trees near power lines within existing rights-of-way without requiring a timber sale. Utilities would be required to return any proceeds to the USFS.
• Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act— Would further incentivize homeowners to proactively protect their homes from disasters by providing a tax exemption on payments from state-based programs. Specifically, the bill excludes qualified catastrophe mitigation payments made under a state-based catastrophe loss mitigation program from gross income calculations.