CAL FIRE Forest Health Awards
CAL FIRE Awards $142 Million For Critical Wildfire Resilience Projects Statewide
CAL FIRE recently announce that $142.6 million has been awarded for statewide investments in projects intended to enhance carbon storage while restoring the health and resilience of existing and recently burned forests throughout California.
CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program awarded 27 grants to local and regional partners implementing projects on state, local, tribal, federal, and private lands spanning over 75,000 acres and 24 counties. Fuels reduction and prescribed fire treatments funded under these grants are aimed at reducing excess vegetation and returning forest and oak woodlands to more fire, drought, and pest-resilient conditions.
“These investments demonstrate CAL FIRE’s ability to deliver on the Governor’s Action Plan and are vital to protect the health of our forests and the safety of our communities.”
– Patrick Wright, Director, California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force
CDPH Publishes Air Pollution Health Burden Mapping Dashboard
CDPH Publishes California Wildfire Smoke and Air Pollution Health Burden Mapping Dashboard
California Department of Public Health’s dashboard shows the health burden related to air pollution and wildfire smoke. By mapping excess respiratory or cardiovascular-related emergency room visits, the dashboard allows users to visualize the burden in any zip code, as well as how the burden is distributed among races and ages, and proximity to medical facilities, schools, historical wildfires and Air Quality readings. The dashboard is based on data in the publication, Wildfires and the Changing Landscape of Air Pollution-related Health Burden in California. The dashboard was supported in part by a grant from the CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Research Program, as part of California Climate Investments.
Recap of Sacramento Task Force Meeting
SACRAMENTO TASK FORCE MEETING RECAP
March 30, 2023
The California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force held its quarterly meeting at the California Natural Resources Agency in Sacramento and live on Zoom.
The agenda and video recordings are available below.
MEETING AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS
- Looking Back: Members on this panel highlighted major accomplishments from state and federal agencies in 2022, shared preliminary results from California’s Year in Fire analysis, discussed what field monitoring reveals about the effectiveness of fuels treatments, and what recent wildfires reveal about the effectiveness of defensive space and home hardening. Subjects covered include:
– What have we accomplished?
– How do we measure the impacts of fires? California’s Year in Fire
– Are treatments working?
- Moving Forward: Presentations covered the questions that components of the Regional Resource Kits are meant to address: What are our goals and how do we define them? What is the current condition of our landscapes? How do we most effectively plan and prioritize projects? Where are we currently investing? How do we measure the effectiveness of those investments? The Monitoring and Reporting Work Group unveiled the Interagency Treatment Tracker, and Google.org provided an update on the decision support tool, Planscape. Subjects covered include:
– Where is management most beneficial?
– How do we more effectively plan & prioritize projects? Planscape
– Where are we investing? Interagency Treatment Tracker
– How do we measure the effectiveness of our investments?
- Wood Utilization Work Group: The Work Group provided an overview of preliminary proposed actions in future joint strategy for wood utilization. Panelists discussed the importance of private sector investments in a vibrant wood products market that advances the state’s sustainable forest management strategy. Subjects covered include:
– Overview of Proposed Action
– Panel Discussion with Industry Representatives
Welcome & Opening Remarks
• Wade Crowfoot, CNRA
• Jennifer Eberlien, USFS
• Task Force Executive Committee
Director’s Report
Director’s Report
• Patrick Wright
Looking Back
Looking Back
Moderator: John Battles, UC Berkeley
• Patrick Wright, Task Force
• Leana Weissberg, UC Berkeley, Center for Law, Energy & the Environment
• Scott Stephens, UC Berkeley
• Yana Valachovic, UC Cooperative Extension
Moving Forward
Moving Forward
Moderator: John Battles, UC Berkeley
• Pat Manley, USFS Pacific SW Research Station
• David Saah, Spatial Informatics Group
• Mickey Kataria, Google.org
• Alan Talhelm, CARB
• Loretta Moreno, CNRA
• Stephanie Coppeto, USFS.
Wood Utilization Work Group Report
Wood Utilization Work Group Report
Moderator: Steve Frisch, Sierra Business Council
• Elizabeth Betancourt, Dept. of Conservation
• Helena Murray, USFS
• Matt Dias, California Forestry Association
• Julia Levin, Bioenergy Association of California
• Dan Porter, The Nature Conservancy
• Matt Sjoholm, Blue Forest Conservation.
Final Remarks
• Task Force Co-Chairs
California Releases Extreme Heat Action Plan
California Releases Extreme Heat Action Plan
To protect communities from rising temperatures, the plan outlines a strategic, all-of-government approach to building resilience to extreme heat and mitigating its health, economic, ecological and social impacts.