Fall color leaves in the forest

DOI Invests Over $12 Million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Fall color leaves in the forest

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.

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Planting sequoia seedilings

American Forests Partners with USDA Forest Service

Planting sequoia seedilings

American Forests Partners with USDA Forest Service to Expand Reforestation Across National Forests


On December 6, American Forests announced a $20 million agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service to help the agency address a 4-million-acre backlog of burned, damaged forests nationally over the next five years. Over 40% of the 4 million acres identified for reforestation are in California. Built on the foundation of the REPLANT Act, this will expand nursery production, grow the forestry workforce and increase seed collection capabilities. Together, the Forest Service and American Forests will use landscape-level planning and climate-informed restoration practices to advance goals identified in the agency’s National Forest System Reforestation Strategy.

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Explore the Treatment Dashboard - Take The Survey

On Tuesday, November 14 the Task Force hosted a Virtual Public Workshop on the CA Wildfire & Landscape Resilience Interagency Treatment Dashboard. The goal of the workshop was to gather input from those using the Treatment Tracking System and Dashboard to improve how data is accessed and displayed, and to ensure we are providing transparency and effective planning information on statewide wildfire resilience treatments. 

If you missed the workshop, or want to look back at what was covered, click on the buttons above to watch a video of the presentation from Alan Talhelm, Assistant Deputy Director for Climate and Energy at CAL FIRE, and a key architect of the Dashboard. You can also view and download Alan’s presentation and take a moment to answer a quick survey for gathering additional  input on how the Dashboard can be most effective.


Forest work along a road

$287 Million Available in CAL FIRE Grants for Wildfire Prevention and Forest Health

Forest work along a road

$287 Million Available in CAL FIRE Grants for Wildfire Prevention and Forest Health


$117 million will be allocated through CAL FIRE’s Wildfire Prevention Grant Program. Awarded projects will address the risk of wildfire and reduce wildfire potential to communities. Funded activities will include hazardous fuel reduction, wildfire prevention planning, and wildfire prevention education with an emphasis on protecting communities, improving public health and safety, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. CAL FIRE also conducted a virtual workshop (watch it here) to explain the grant process and requirements. Applications are due January 10, 2024.

$120 million for Forest Health and $50 million for Post-Fire Reforestation and Regeneration projects are open for the solicitation through CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program. Projects are intended to proactively prevent catastrophic wildfires and restore forests to healthy, functioning ecosystems while also sequestering carbon and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Applications are due January 15, 2024.

Wildfire Prevention Grants Program

The Watershed Center Partners to Build CA’s Wildfire Resilience Workforce

The Watershed Center Partners to Build CA’s Wildfire Resilience Workforce


Increased workforce training is critical to meeting the goals of the Task Force. To boost that effort, The Watershed Research and Training Center (The Watershed Center) is launching a new kind of workforce development effort, specifically tailored to Corpsmembers of Local Conservation Corps across California. The Watershed Center piloted this approach from January 2022 to August 2023 with Conservation Corps North Bay, using funds from the California Department of Conservation’s (DOC) Regional Forest and Fire Capacity (RFFC) Program. Now, thanks to continued RFFC funding and also a grant from CAL FIRE’s Workforce Development grant program, the Watershed Center is scaling up the effort.

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Wildfire Mitigation and Management Commission Releases Final Report

Wildfire Mitigation and Management Commission Releases Final Report


On September 27, the federal Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, co-chaired by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, released a final report submitted to Congress that reflects a comprehensive review of the federal wildfire system. The report makes 148 recommendations covering seven key themes:

  • Urgent new approaches to address the wildfire crisis
  • Supporting collaboration to improve partner involvement
  • Shifting from reactive to proactive in planning for, mitigating and recovering from fire
  • Enabling beneficial fire to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire
  • Supporting and expanding the workforce to hire and retain the wildland firefighting staff needed to address the crisis
  • Modernizing tools for informed decision-making to better leverage available technology and information
  • Investing in resilience through increased spending now to reduce costs in the long run

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CAL FIRE representatives

Grants Support Tribal-led Wildfire Resilience Projects

CAL FIRE representatives

First-of-their-Kind Grants Support Tribal-led Wildfire Resilience Projects


On September 22, CAL FIRE awarded $19 million for 13 projects as part of the nation-leading Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grant Program launched earlier this month. This funding supports California Native American tribes in managing ancestral lands, employing Traditional Ecological Knowledge in wildfire resilience, and improving wildfire safety for tribal and surrounding communities. Projects that will receive funding from the grants include ongoing fuels reduction projects on tribal lands, recruitment and training of tribal youth and conservation staff, and the improvement of access to and quality of traditional food and basketry materials. These projects support the promotion and innovation of tribal expertise and science to build capacity and improve wildfire resilience throughout tribal ancestral lands.


Utilities Corridor in Tahoe

Liberty Utilities Partners for Powerline Resilience Corridor Project

Utilities Corridor in Tahoe

Liberty Utilities Partners for Utilities Powerline Resilience Corridor Project


To protect the remarkable Lake Tahoe Basin from wildfire risks, Liberty Utilities’ Powerline Resilience Corridor Project is reducing fuels along powerlines and working alongside the U.S. Forest Service, the National Forest Foundation, and the California Tahoe Conservancy to expand fuels treatments to increase energy safety and promote wildfire resilience in this ecologically and economically important region. Multi-partner collaborations like this project are imperative to Task Force goals to scale up treatments from individual project to landscape scale.

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USFS Announces Landscape Scale Investments to Restore Forests in California

USFS Announces Landscape Scale Investments to Restore Forests in California


On August 29, the USFS announced a $16.2 million nationwide investment to restore forests across tribal, state and private lands. As part of this investment, over $1.1 million is allocated between four California tribal projects conducted by the Hoopa Valley Tribe, Pechanga Band of Indians, Redwood Valley Rancheria Little River Band of Pomo Indians, and the Yurok Tribe. Additionally, $105,000 from state project funding is allocated to restore native forests in the Elkhorn Slough Watershed.

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New Online Treatment Dashboard to Track Wildfire Resilience Projects

New Online Treatment Dashboard to Track Wildfire Resilience Projects


On August 29, the Governor’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force launched the beta version of a first-of-its-kind Interagency Treatment Dashboard beta that displays the size and location of state and federal forest and landscape resilience projects in California.

The dashboard offers a one-stop-shop to access data, provide transparency, and align the efforts of more than a dozen agencies to build resilient landscapes and communities in California. It reports treatment activities such as prescribed fire, targeted grazing, uneven-aged timber harvest, mechanical and hand fuels reduction, and tree planting. Users can sort treatments by region, county, land ownership and more.

The beta version of the dashboard will continue to be refined to include additional data, including projects by local and tribal entities, along with revisions based on public feedback. An official launch is expected in spring 2024 with more complete data on projects implemented in 2022.

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