SACRAMENTO TASK FORCE MEETING RECAP

July 12, 2024

The Task Force held its quarterly meeting at the California Natural Resources Agency in Sacramento and live on Zoom. CAL FIRE Director Joe Tyler provided an update on the current fire season and Task Force Director Patrick Wright reported on state and federal budget allocations. Then several panels of statewide and regional leaders discussed challenges and next steps for aligning and coordinating state, federal, and private funding to better support regional priority needs and increase program sustainability.

Moderated by Forest Schafer, State Coordinator with the Task Force, panels focused on three key areas related to Aligning Regional Investments:

  • State & Federal Frameworks
  • Expanding Partnerships
  • Regional Approaches
View Full Agenda

Welcome & Executive Remarks

Co-chairs

  • Wade Crowfoot, CA Natural Resources Agency
  • Jennifer Eberlien, U.S. Forest Service

Task Force Executive Committee

  • Patrick Wright, Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force
  • Joe Tyler, CAL FIRE
  • Valerie Hipkins, USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station
  • Sam Assefa, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research
  • Ed Valenzuela, California State Association of Counties
  • Katy Landau, CalEPA

Director’s Report

  • Patrick Wright, Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force

Aligning Regional Investments

State & Federal Frameworks

  • Liz Berger, U.S. Forest Service
  • Trevor McConchie, Washington State Department of Natural Resources
  • Mary McDonnell, California Department of Conservation
  • Shannon Johnson, CAL FIRE

Expanding Partnerships

  • Chris Morrill, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation
  • Michelle Wolfgang, Eldorado National Forest
  • Sashi Sabaratnam, PG&E
  • Eric Tsai, California Department of Water Resources

Regional Approaches

• Brittany Covich, Sierra Nevada Conservancy 

• Karen Gaffney, North Coast Resource Partnership

• Heather Marlow, RCD of Greater San Diego 

Closing Remarks

  • Task Force Executive Committee