May Revise Budget Proposes Extending Cap-and-Trade and Shifting $1.5 Billion for Wildfire
May Revise Budget Proposes Extending Cap-and-Trade and Shifting $1.5 Billion from GGRF for Wildfire Prevention and Protection
The May Revision of the Governor’s budget proposes an extension of the Cap-and-Trade program that is best captured in a renaming of the program to the Cap-and-Invest program and enshrined in clear guiding principles that enable a stable and predictable price on carbon pollution to drive deeper investments in carbon reduction and clean technologies.
The May Revision proposes to shift $1.54 billion from the General Fund to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to support CAL FIRE’s fire prevention, fire control, and resource management activities on an ongoing basis. This proposal aligns with the polluter-pays principle in which carbon emitters will fund the state’s world-class forestry and fire protection programs in the face of wildfires that have become increasingly destructive because of climate change. The proposal also includes a General Fund backstop to protect CAL FIRE’s operations in the event Cap-and-Invest auction proceeds fall below projected revenues. To address the projected budget shortfall, the May Revision includes General Fund solutions to achieve a balanced budget, including a reversion of $31.5 million General Fund appropriated for the acquisition of property for a new CAL FIRE training center. CAL FIRE is exploring more cost-effective alternatives that will meet the same training capacity goals as the new additional training center project through a combination of expanding and upgrading existing training facilities and utilizing newly identified long-term lease opportunities to minimize delays in training output.
Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition Publishes 2024 Annual Report
Report Highlights Significant Advances in Emergency Wildfire Recovery, Research and Restoration
Officials from the State of California, USFS, National Park Service, Tule River Indian Tribe of California, Save the Redwoods League and other members of the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition (GSLC) recently announced significant progress in their work to protect the largest trees on Earth from extreme wildfires. In its 2024 progress report, the GSLC confirms coalition partners have, since 2022, conducted restoration activities in more than half of the world’s sequoia groves and planted more than 617,000 native trees.
First Set of Projects Fast-tracked as Part of Governor’s Emergency Proclamation on Wildfire
CNRA and CalEPA Identify First Set of Fast-tracked Projects as Part of Governor’s Emergency Proclamation on Wildfire
New Streamlined Process:
Governor Newsom issued an Emergency Proclamation (Proclamation) on March 1, 2025, to confront the severe ongoing risk of catastrophic wildfires that threatens public safety across California. The Proclamation authorizes the Secretaries of the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to determine which projects are eligible for suspension of certain State of California statutory and regulatory requirements to expedite critical fuels reduction projects, while at the same time protecting public resources and the environment. The Task Force has established a website that includes eligibility criteria, FAQs, and a link to the application to request a determination of eligibility for suspension of relevant State of California statutory and regulatory requirements. The Secretaries also hosted a virtual briefing on the Proclamation and the process.
First Set of Approved Projects:
Just one week after applications opened, CNRA and CalEPA identified a 450-acre collaborative wildfire resilience project in Humboldt County as the first project to be determined eligible for streamlining. Three projects totaling 882 acres have been approved to date, spanning from the northern California coast to Sierra Nevada Mountains and all the way down to San Diego. Each of these projects involve tribes and other partners, natural resource managers and fire districts. Here is an overview of the first set of approved projects.
- The Prosper Ridge Community Wildfire Resilience Project in Humboldt County is the first approved project under the Governor’s emergency proclamation on wildfire. This collaborative state, federal, and tribal project will treat nearly 450 acres with a combination of mechanical thinning, manual treatments, and prescribed fire.
- The Sycuan Wildfire Resiliency Project covers over 240 acres in San Diego County and aims to protect the Sycuan Reservation from wildfire by reducing fire hazard, ensuring defensible space, and providing safe egress with the use of 300 grazing goats.
- Vedanta Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project will reduce wildfire risk, improve forest health and enhance landscape resilience within the WUI, reducing risk of crown fires spans across 190 acres near Lake Tahoe.
These projects are focused on removing flammable dead or dying trees, creating strategic fuel breaks, creating safe egress along roadways, manual and mechanical removal of ladder fuels and beneficial fire use. Approved project location maps and documentation will be made available on the Task Force website.
Rancheria Celebrates Achievement as the State’s 1,000th Firewise Community
Table Mountain Rancheria Celebrates Achievement as the State’s 1,000th Firewise Community During Wildfire Preparedness Week
Table Mountain Rancheria, located in Fresno County, has been announced as the 1,000th Firewise USA® community in the state during this year’s Wildfire Preparedness Week celebration. This recognition by the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) highlights the commitment the community has taken to ensure that wildfire risk is reduced and that residents are prepared. Governor Newsom declared May 4-10 as “Wildfire Preparedness Week” with the theme, “Building a Fire-Ready Future: Strengthening Our Defenses, Together,” to emphasize the importance of both collaborative efforts and individual responsibility in reducing and managing wildfire risk. CAL FIRE’s readyforwildfire.org website hosts an array of preparedness resources.
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:
-
- 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.
-
- 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.
-
- 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.
-
- 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.
-
- 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.
Recap of The Spring 2025 Regional Meeting in San Rafael
SPRING 2025 REGIONAL MEETING RECAP
March 27, 2025
A full-capacity audience of over 400 people came together in Marin County (with over 300 joining online) for the Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force’s Spring 2025 Regional Meeting. Hosted by Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority and Fire Safe Marin, the agenda and activities focused on critical issues related to community wildfire risk reduction and landscape management in Marin County and lessons from the Los Angeles fires.
If you couldn’t make it in person, or missed the real-time webinar, video recordings are available below.
SPRING REGIONAL MEETING AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS
- Lessons from the Los Angeles Fires: Presenters highlighted key lessons from the 2025 LA wildfires relating to response, community safety, ecosystem resilience and home hardening.
- Building Resilient Communities in Marin and Beyond: Regional leaders shared their progress and priorities for protecting communities since the 2017 North Bay wildfires.
- Director’s Report: Director Wright presented the Task Force’s 2025 Key Deliverables outlining the highest priority actions underway this year to increase wildfire resilience across the state.
- Emergency Proclamation on Wildfire Prevention Projects: Secretary Crowfoot discussed the Governor’s State of Emergency to expedite projects intended to protect California communities from catastrophic wildfire.
- Tools for Improving Community Resilience: A panel of experts explored local and state-level initiatives that are defining data needs, driving down wildfire risk, and influencing access to affordable insurance.
- Expanding Career Pathways in Fire & Forestry: Recent graduates of the FIRE Foundry program shared perspectives on priorities for employee-centered career and workforce development programs.
Welcome & Opening Remarks
• Wade Crowfoot, CA Natural Resources Agency
• Jennifer Eberlien, USDA Forest Service
• Task Force Executive Committee
• Lorelle Ross, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria
• Damon Connolly, Assemblymember, District 12
Lessons Learned from the Los Angeles Fires
• Alexandra Syphard, Conservation Biology Institute
• Steve Hawks, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
Building Resilient Communities in Marin & Beyond
• Moderator: Jacy Hyde, CA Fire Safe Council
• Jason Weber, Marin County Fire
• Julie McMillan, Ross Town Council
• Mark Brown, Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority
• Claire Mooney, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Director's Report: 2025 Key Deliverables
• Patrick Wright, Task Force
Emergency Proclamation on Wildfire Prevention Projects: Next Steps
• Wade Crowfoot, CA Natural Resources Agency
Tools for Improving Community Resilience
• Moderator: Chris Anthony, UCSD ProWESS Center
• Daniel Berlant, CAL FIRE
• Genevieve Biggs, Moore Foundation
• Jason Brooks, Fire Aside
• John Battles, UC Berkeley
Expanding Career Pathways in Fire & Forestry
• Moderator: Jason Weber, Marin County Fire
• Mimi Choudhury, FIRE Foundry
• Alfredo Campos, FIRE Foundry Graduate
• Meily Jimenez, FIRE Foundry Graduate
• Gabe Cruz, Chula Vista Fire Department
Closing Remarks
• Executive Committee
Planscape Adds Free Tool to Model Treatment Impacts
Planscape Adds Free Tool to Model the Impact of Wildfire Resilience Treatments
March 24, 2025 – The Planscape Partnership, a collaboration of public and non-profit organizations, announced the release of Planscape Treatment Effects, the latest update to the Planscape collaborative tool which adds a new suite of features that enables land managers and collaboratives to quickly and efficiently model and report out on landscape resilience treatments. Built in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Google.org, and the State of California, Planscape Treatment Effects allows land managers to run treatment scenarios, see 20-year projections of scenario outcomes, optimize resources, and share data instantly.
With Planscape Treatment Effects, land managers can:
- Plan and compare management options by fuel treatment type, location, and sequence.
- Understand the impact of treatments on outputs such as canopy cover, large tree biomass, and fire intensity in forests, as well as rate of spread and flame length in non-forested areas.
- View outputs over the next 5, 10, 15, and 20 years.
- Leverage the best science and models to run models directly in a web browser.
New Report On Effects of Forest Management on Carbon Storage
New Report on Effects of Forest Management on Carbon Storage in California
February 18, 2025 – American Forests, USFS, CAL FIRE, The Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, and Michigan State University recently released a collaborative report on the effects of forest management and wood utilization on carbon sequestration and storage in California. The report provides comprehensive forest sector carbon modeling results, estimated treatment costs, wood product revenue, and wood processing capacity constraints for a broad range of forest management scenarios to help identify climate-smart forestry (CSF) practices. The modeling results provide information about forest climate mitigation and adaption opportunities that will be utilized to help inform the 2025 California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force Action Plan
Notably, the report:
- Identifies 11 million acres in California as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential.
- Emphasizes the importance of wood utilization to improve carbon benefits.
- Predicts that under a business-as-usual scenario, California could lose up to up to 48% of forest area & 50% of forest carbon by 2071.
- Models scenarios that include a portfolio of actions that drastically reduce predicted losses to forest areas and forest carbon.