CA Celebrates Launch of Tribal Conservation Corps Program
CA Celebrates Launch of Tribal Conservation Corps Program
Governor Newsom’s proposed 2022-’23 state budget includes $7.2 million in funding for the California Conservation Corps to establish more tribal conservation corps like the one being launched today.
RESOURCES
Recent CAL FIRE Grants Total Over $250M For Wildfire and Forest Resilience
Recent CAL FIRE Grants Total Over $250M For Wildfire and Forest Resilience
Funded projects address threatened communities, forest health, prescribed fire, restoring burned landscapes and more.
June 2, 2022 – CAL FIRE Grant Programs have allocated funds to address crucial needs in a wide range of areas related to wildfire and forest resilience. Together, they represent significant progress towards achieving the goals of California’s Wildfire & Forest Resilience Action Plan.
$118 million in funding was awarded for 144 Wildfire Prevention projects across the state. CAL FIRE’s Wildfire Prevention Grants enable local organizations like fire safe councils, to implement activities that address the hazards of wildfire and reduce wildfire risk to communities. Funded activities include hazardous fuel reduction, wildfire prevention planning, and wildfire prevention education.
CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program awarded 22 grants totaling $98.4 million for landscape-scale forest health and prescribed fire projects spanning over 55,000 acres and 14 counties. They also awarded $10 million to the North Coast Resource Partnership (NCRP) for its regional wildfire resilience plan, which was developed with support from the Department of Conservation’s Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program.
30 grants totaling $33 million came from CAL FIRE’s Wood Products and Bioenergy Team for business and workforce development projects. Ten workforce grants will help train over 5,000 individuals in prescribed fire, fuels treatment, firefighting, and forestry, and another14 grants will create 120 jobs and utilize 750,000 tons of forest biomass that would otherwise remain in the woods or be burned in open piles. Two projects will expand the State’s native tree seed bank and grow seedlings to assist with reforestation, and six research and development grants will fund novel uses for forest biomass sourced from wildfire mitigation projects.
CAL FIRE’s Wildfire Resilience Program awarded $9.99 million in block grants to the American Forest Foundation (AFF), Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, and the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (CARCD). The grants will support forest improvement projects on approximately 6,000 acres of small non-industrial private forestlands and provide technical assistance to private landowners in13 counties.
SNC Approves More Than $21 Million In Wildfire Recovery and Forest Resilience Grants
SNC Approves More Than $21 Million In Wildfire Recovery and Forest Resilience Grants
The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) granted $21.8 million to 19 forest resilience and wildfire recovery projects at its recent June board meeting. Thirteen of the projects will take place on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands, where federal land management agencies committed an additional $4.8 million to the forest resilience and wildfire recovery efforts. It’s important to note that many of these grants also build on collaborative planning and implementation efforts by state, federal, and local organizations that have been ongoing for years throughout the region.
Find more highlights about individual projects in an article on the SNC’s website, and more detail in SNC board materials starting on page 69 of the linked pdf.
RESOURCES
Advancing Equitable Wildfire Workforce Development
Advancing Equitable Wildfire Workforce Development
April 14, 2022 – The Watershed Research and Training Center advances equity in the wildfire workforce through a pilot training with a local conservation corps, Conservation Corps of North Bay. Developing wildfire and climate resilience through support of a diverse workforce.