USDA Announces Over $61 Million to Process Forest Biomass and a New Facility Opens in Tuolumne County
USDA Announces Over $61 Million to Process Forest Biomass and a New Facility Opens in Tuolumne County
USDA Announces $61.25 Million for California Projects from the Timber Production and Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program
March 23, 2026 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced $115.2 million in loans through the Timber Production and Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program to support projects in eight states that will help sawmills and other wood processing facilities establish, reopen, expand, or improve their operations. $61.24 million was allocated to three companies in California:
- Blue Mountain Electric Company, LLC ($25M) to support the construction and operation of a 3MW gasification plant in Wilseyville in Calaveras County, which plans to convert forestry biomass waste into synthetic natural gas.
- Alpenglow Timber, LLC ($18.5M) to establish a new sawmill in the North Tahoe/Truckee area, which is expected to create new jobs in a community with a 4.7% unemployment rate.
- Sierra Forest Products Holdings, Inc. ($17.75M) to expand and modernize operations, improve efficiency, and increase timber processing capacity.
New Biomass Facility Opens in Tuolumne County
March 12, 2027 – The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) announced the completion of the federally funded Community and Watershed Resilience Program with the opening of the Tuolumne BioEnergy facility in Sonora, which, alongside the Tuolumne Biomass facility, utilizes forest-restoration material to create jobs and produce wood products while reducing wildfire fuels. The program, funded through a $70.4 million National Disaster Resilience Competition grant following the 2013 Rim Fire, included forest- and watershed-health projects on 14,000 acres, creation of two community resilience centers, and strategic fuel breaks to protect communities and landscapes. By converting excess biomass into usable products and supporting large-scale fuels reduction, these facilities enhance forest resilience, lower wildfire risk, and provide long-term economic and ecological benefits to Tuolumne County.
U.S. EPA Awards $14.7 Million to the Tule River Tribe for Biochar Project
U.S. EPA Awards 14.7 Million to the Tule River Tribe for Biochar Project
February 18, 2026 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a $14.7 million grant to a biochar project that will enable the Tule River Tribe of California to tap into carbon credit revenue. Under the project, the Tule River Economic Development Corp. (TREDC) will utilize the EPA grant to construct a biochar production plant in California’s Central Valley that will also have the capacity to generate renewable electricity. According to TREDC estimates, the plant will be able to process up to 31,500 tons of woody residue annually, producing approximately 4,500 tons of biochar and roughly 4,000 megawatt-hours of renewable power each year. Its operations are also projected to be able to remove up to 10,600 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually and provide jobs for Tribal citizens.
Governor Newsom Unveils California’s Updated Climate Adaptation Strategy
Governor Newsom Unveils California’s Updated Climate Adaptation Strategy
September 4, 2025 – Governor Newsom unveiled California’s updated Climate Adaptation Strategy — the state’s overarching framework to better protect communities and nature from dangerous climate impacts. California last updated the Strategy in 2021. The updated strategy sets strategic direction through six priorities:
- Protecting communities most vulnerable to climate change
- Improving public health and safety to protect against increasing climate risk
- Building a climate-resilient economy
- Expanding nature-based climate solutions and strengthening the resilience of natural systems
- Making decisions based on best available climate science
- Partnering and collaborating to leverage resources
These priorities are supported by cross-cutting climate resilience actions, each with associated success metrics. The strategy aligns with and builds on the goals set forth by California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan and includes the following actions specific to wildfire resilience:
- Prioritize actions that reduce wildfire risks to California Native American tribes and climate vulnerable communities.
- Support wildfire-prone communities by increasing the capacity of local and regional partnerships to build and maintain a pipeline of forest health and fire prevention projects.
- Invest Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds in long-term disaster recovery and resilience building that targets the unmet housing recovery needs of low and moderate-income households in a way that mitigates disaster risk and reduces future losses among vulnerable communities.
- Reduce health impacts of wildfire and prescribed fire smoke.
- Reduce the risk of energy infrastructure-related ignitions that lead to catastrophic wildfire.
- Bring to scale a thriving forest and wood products market in California that leverages public investments by energizing private capital for sustainable forest management, regional economic recovery, and climate resilience.
- Increase the pace and scale of wildfire resilience and forest health projects.
- Reduce risks of wildfire through increased use of fuel breaks and fuels reduction.
- Assist the federal government in scaling up forest treatments by supporting collaborative forest management and encouraging landscape level planning.
- Coordinate and guide prescribed fire and cultural fire activities and address the key barriers to its widespread use in California.
- Expedite permitting processes for wildfire and forest resilience projects using exemptions or the California Vegetation Treatment program.
- Invest in science-based management focused on climate resilience of California’s fire adapted landscapes.
- Improve wildfire smoke guidance for schools, children, and other vulnerable populations. Develop outreach materials for health care providers and the public on wildfire smoke health effects and ways to decrease exposure.
- Collaborate with federal, state, tribal, and private partners to increase pace and scale of restoration of fire-adapted lands and maximize the climate resilience benefits of these treatments.
- Leverage federal funding to support fire-hardening roads and communities.
CAL FIRE Awards Nearly $10 Million to Support Tribal Wildfire Resilience and Boost Forestry Workforce
CAL FIRE Awards Nearly $10 Million to Support Tribal Wildfire Resilience and Boost Forestry Workforce
August 1, 2025 – CAL FIRE awarded nearly $4.7 million through its Tribal Wildfire Resilience Program to support six tribes and tribal non-profits in implementing projects on tribal, federal, and private lands. These grants focus on cultural fire, workforce training, fuels reduction, reforestation, land stewardship, and other efforts that promote wildfire resilience and safety for tribal communities. The funding also supports the use and promotion of Traditional Ecological Knowledge to help California Native American tribes manage their ancestral lands.
August 18, 2025 – CAL FIRE announced $5 million in grant funding through its Business and Workforce Development Grant program to eight projects that will create jobs, train future forestry workers, and help small businesses expand their role in protecting California’s forests and communities from wildfire. Together, these eight projects will train more than 300 people, create or retain dozens of jobs, and increase the capacity to treat thousands of acres per year.
President Trump Orders Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production
President Trump Orders Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production
March 1, 2025 – President Trump signed an executive order which aims to boost domestic timber production. The order directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to:
- Within 30 days, issue new or updated guidance regarding tools to increase timber production, reduce time to deliver timber, and decrease timber supply uncertainty;
- Within 60 days, complete a strategy on USFS and BLM forest management projects to increase speed of approving forestry projects under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA);
- Within 90 days, set a target for the annual amount of timber per year to be offered for sale over the next 4 years;
- Within 120 days, complete the Whitebark Pine Rangewide Programmatic Consultation under section 7 of the ESA;
- Within 180 days, consider adopting categorical exclusions administratively established by other agencies to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act for timber production, forest management, and wildfire risk reduction treatments; and
- Within 280 days, consider establishing a new categorical exclusion for timber thinning and re-establish a categorical exclusion for timber salvage activities.
The order also directs all relevant agencies to eliminate all undue delays within their respective permitting processes related to timber production and use ESA regulations on consultations in emergencies to facilitate timber production. Lastly, the order directs the federal members of the Endangered Species Committee to submit a report that identifies obstacles to domestic timber production related to the ESA.
Additionally, on March 12, 2025, the U.S. EPA announced 31 actions aimed toward environmental deregulation, including reconsideration of exceptional events rulemaking to work with states to prioritize the allowance of prescribed fires within State and Tribal Implementation Plans.
Senator Padilla Introduces Three Bipartisan Bills to Bolster Fire Resilience and Proactive Mitigation Efforts
Senator Padilla Introduces Three Bipartisan Bills to Bolster Fire Resilience and Proactive Mitigation Efforts
On February 3, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced a package of three bipartisan bills to bolster fire resilience and proactive mitigation efforts. The package includes:
• Wildfire Emergency Act— Would reduce the threat of destructive wildfires through forest restoration, firefighter training, energy resilience retrofits, and wildfire-hardening home modifications in low-income communities. Specifically, the legislation would:
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- provide the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) with a pilot authority to leverage private financing to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration projects;
- authorize funding for programs to expand the forest conservation and wildland firefighting workforce;
- establish an energy resilience program at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure that critical facilities remain active during wildfire disruptions, authorizing up to $100 million for necessary retrofits;
- expand an existing DOE weatherization grant program to provide up to $13,000 to low-income households to make wildfire-hardening retrofits;
- expedite the placement of wildfire detection equipment on the ground, such as sensors or cameras, as well as the use of space-based observation;
- establish a prescribed fire-training center in the West and authorize grants to support training the next generation of foresters and firefighters; and
- authorize up to $50 million to support community grants of up to $50,000 for locally focused land stewardship and conservation.
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• Fire-Safe Electrical Corridors Act— Would allow the USFS to approve the removal of hazardous trees near power lines on federal lands without requiring a timber sale, thereby easing the removal of hazardous trees, and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire. This would allow the USFS to provide standing permission for electrical utilities to cut and remove hazardous trees near power lines within existing rights-of-way without requiring a timber sale. Utilities would be required to return any proceeds to the USFS.
• Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act— Would further incentivize homeowners to proactively protect their homes from disasters by providing a tax exemption on payments from state-based programs. Specifically, the bill excludes qualified catastrophe mitigation payments made under a state-based catastrophe loss mitigation program from gross income calculations.
USDA California Climate Hub Provides Forestry Resource Repository for Land Managers
New Website Provides Forestry Resource Repository for Land Managers
January 8, 2025 – The USDA California Climate Hub released a new webpage that compiles datasets and decision-support tools to help land managers and natural resource professionals with assessing the conditions of a landscape for project planning. The list is not exhaustive of all resources but focuses on data and tools available to the public, with an emphasis on resources available within the state of California. The repository also contains a series of factsheets, produced by the USDA California Climate Hub, that offer a succinct overview of the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force’s Regional Resource Kits and its constituent products.
Federal Funds Reduce Wildfire Risk and Support Local Economies
Federal Funds Reduce Wildfire Risk and Support Local Economies
Federal Funds Support Wildfire Impacted Communities:
November 15, 2024 – Governor Newsom announced that five communities hit hardest by the devastating wildfires in 2018 will receive $40.7 million in new federal aid to support community development and help communities reach full economic recovery. This funding will reach communities that are still recovering from the economic and mental health impacts of wildfires and demonstrates the importance of continued support for disaster-impacted communities, even years after initial disaster relief has concluded. The funding comes from the federal 2018 Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery Workforce Development program and will go to communities in the counties of Butte, Lake, Los Angeles, Shasta, and Ventura.
USFS Awards Over $7 Million to Reduce Wildfire Risk and Support Local Economies in California:
November 13, 2024 – The U.S. Forest Service awarded $20 million to transport hazardous fuels from forests to facilities for processing into wood products or energy sources. These awards fund 66 projects in 13 states, including nearly $7.3 million for 12 projects in California. Awarded projects will increase the pace and scale of wildfire resilience treatments and provide economic benefits to local communities and businesses. Projects will support critical wood products industries and underserved communities by providing jobs in rural areas that may be impacted by mill closures.
California Passes Proposition 4 — Providing $1.5 Billion for Wildfire Resilience
California Passes Proposition 4 — Providing $1.5 Billion for Wildfire Resilience
November 5, 2024 – Californians passed Proposition 4, the first-ever climate bond to go before California voters. The proposition provides $10 billion in bond funds for critical wildfire, flood protection, and other climate resilience projects around the state, including $1.5 billion for wildfire resilience. This funding will enable agencies to improve landscape health and resilience and protect communities from wildfire risks through programs such as the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program. The funding also includes $50 million for long-term capital infrastructure projects that utilize wildfire mitigation waste for non-combustible uses.
In addition to funding wildfire resilience, $1.2 billion will be used to protect natural lands and preserve biodiversity, with $870 million directed to the Wildlife Conservation Board to help the state to meet its goal to protect 30% of lands by 2030. The approval of Proposition 4 is a major advancement for California’s efforts to increase the pace and scale of wildfire and landscape resilience treatments, adapt to a changing climate, and reach goals set in the California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan.
California IBank Invests $25M in Wildfire Innovation Fund
California IBank Invests $25M in Wildfire Innovation Fund
September 3, 2024 – California’s Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) announced $25 million from the Climate Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund will be invested in the California Wildfire Innovation Fund to reduce wildfire risk. Funds will be used to restore California forests, improve forest health, and put new biomass technologies to work.
The California Wildfire Innovation Fund is managed by Blue Forest, a conservation finance non-profit that supports entrepreneurs and companies working toward forest restoration and economic revitalization.
The fund offers flexible, low-cost financial support for emerging opportunities across California’s forest restoration and wood utilization sectors.