DOI Invests Over $12 Million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
DOI Invests Over $12 Million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Advance Wildfire Resilience in California
On November 30, the Department of the Interior announced that it has invested over $12.2 million in fiscal year 2023 from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance wildfire resilience work and support fuels management projects on 27,669 acres in California. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is bringing much-needed help to communities across the country to increase the resilience of lands facing the threat of wildland fires and to better support federal wildland firefighters.
30x30 Becomes Law
30x30 Becomes Law
On October 7 Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 337, establishing the statewide goal to conserve at least 30 percent of California’s land and coastal waters by 2030 (30×30). This legislation establishes the goal in statute, ensuring that it will remain a commitment for future administrations through 2030. The three primary objectives of 30×30 are to conserve and restore biodiversity, expand access to nature, and mitigate and build resilience to climate change. Accomplishing these objectives will assist the Task Force in ongoing efforts to improve forest health to manage the risk of wildfire.
CAL FIRE Invests $47M in School Greening
CAL FIRE Invests $47M in School Greening
More shade is on the way! On July 13, Governor Newsom announced CAL FIRE’s $47 million investment to help schools convert pavement to green spaces and plant trees and other vegetation. This first round of CAL FIRE’s $117 million Green Schoolyard Grant program will support 6 implementation projects and 9 planning projects on 100 schoolyards statewide. The program is part of the Governor’s Extreme Heat Action Plan, which is backed by the $52.3 billion California Climate Commitment budget. This program supports the goal of to expanding urban canopy, as laid out in the Task Force Action Plan.
State Agencies Fund Wildfire Resilience, Habitat Restoration and Conservation Projects
State Agencies Fund Wildfire Resilience, Habitat Restoration and Conservation Projects
State Agencies Fund Wildfire Resilience, Habitat Restoration and Conservation Projects:
State Coastal Conservancy $78 Million for Climate Resilience, Public Access, Habitat Restoration and Wildfire Resilience: On June 1, the State Coastal Conservancy approved nearly $78 million for 34 projects to protect and restore coastal lands, increase coastal resilience to climate change, improve public access to the coast, and reduce the impact of wildfire on coastal lands.
SNC Approves $22.5 Million to Build Resilience, Boost Recreation, and Conserve Land: On June 1, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) approved roughly $22.5 million for 24 different projects that will benefit wildfire recovery and forest resilience, expand recreation opportunities, and conserve strategic land throughout California’s Sierra-Cascade region.
CNRA Publishes Annual Report on 30x30 Initiative
CNRA Publishes Annual Report on 30x30 Initiative
30×30 is California’s landmark commitment to conserve 30 percent of the state’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. This important target has launched a collective initiative that leads the world in protecting, restoring and preserving our natural environment. Real, tangible progress is being made toward realizing this goal. On May 18, CNRA released its annual report showing that California added approximately 631,000 acres of conserved land since April 2022, bringing the statewide total to 24.4 percent of lands and 16.2 percent of coastal waters protected. The report details investments of $116 million in 83 different conservation projects, and shows meaningful progress on 79 of the 112 Pathways to 30×30.
California Climate Investments Program Publishes Annual Report
California Climate Investments Program Publishes Annual Report
The 2023 Annual Report to the Legislature from California Climate Investments tracks the impact of California Climate Investments, including estimates of greenhouse gas emissions reductions, benefits from project investments, and data on the benefits to priority populations, and program achievements.
As of November 2022, California Climate Investments programs have implemented over $9.3 billion in addition to $4.3 billion in expenditures by the High-Speed Rail Project for a total of $13.6 billion. Investments are delivering major economic, environmental, and public health benefits for Californians, including meaningful benefits to disadvantaged communities and low‑income communities and households. Roughly half of these implemented funds address concerns faced by priority populations by providing cleaner air, enhanced mobility options, access to clean energy sources, and new employment opportunities.
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.
Planscape now lives on the Task Force website
Planscape Now Lives on the Task Force Website
A collaborative effort between CA Natural Resources Agency, USFS, UC Berkeley, Spatial Informatics Group and Google.org, Planscape is a decision support tool that empowers regional planners to prioritize resilience treatments across the landscape and inform the funding process. Planscape partners provided a demonstration of the tool at the March 30 Task Force meeting. This version of the tool is available for beta testing, with the region-specific scenarios released this summer through fall.
RESOURCES
Public Comment Sought on Proposal to List California Spotted Owl
Photo Courtesy of Anastasia Stanish
Public Comment Sought on Proposal to List California Spotted Owl
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is proposing to list two distinct population of the California Spotted Owl under the Endangered Species Act: the Coastal-Southern California DPS as endangered and the Sierra Nevada DPS as threatened. As part of this proposed listing, USFWS is including a 4(d) rule for the Sierra Nevada DPS that exempts the prohibition of take under the ESA for forest fuels management activities that reduce the risk of large-scale high-severity wildfire. USFWS is seeking public comment on the proposed rule through April 24.
USDA Invests More than $48.6 Million to Manage Risks, Combat Climate Change
USDA Invests More than $48.6 Million to Manage Risks, Combat Climate Change
USDA will invest more than $48.6 million this year through the Joint Chief’s Landscape Restoration Partnership for 14 projects that mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality, restore forest ecosystems, and ultimately contribute to USDA’s efforts to combat climate change. Under the Joint Chiefs’ Partnership, the USDA Forest Service (USFS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) co-invest in areas where public forests and grasslands intersect with privately-owned lands. An award of $3.3 million was awarded to a phase three project focused on fire resilience in Trinity County. The project will address high-risk cross-boundary threats by strategically treating forests on both private and national forestlands, and it will address new threats created by 2020 and 2021 wildfires.