CAL FIRE Awards Nearly $72 Million to Landscape-Scale Forest Health Projects Across California

Awarded projects continue CAL FIRE’s commitment to restoring California’s forest health and resiliency

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has awarded nearly $72 million to support landscape-scale, regionally based land management projects that will restore forest health and resilience throughout California, while enhancing long-term carbon storage.

Through its Forest Health Program, CAL FIRE has awarded 12 grants (details of which are available on the Forest Health Program website) to local and regional partners carrying out projects on state, local, tribal, federal, and private lands. Designed to address critical forest health needs, these initiatives will reduce wildfire risk, improve ecosystem resilience, and enhance carbon sequestration across California’s diverse landscapes.

Forest Health grant projects must focus on large, landscape-scale forestlands that are composed of one or more landowners and may cover multiple jurisdictions. Landscape-scale forestlands are no less than 800 acres in size and usually include watersheds, firesheds, or larger logical management units. Grant-funded activities must be applied across large landscapes to achieve regional forest resilience, and projects that implement a mix of activities with multiple, experienced partners are given priority.

“CAL FIRE is proud to award Forest Health grants that will increase the wildfire resilience of California’s landscapes and communities and help restore ecosystems following wildfire,” said Alan Talhelm, Assistant Deputy Director of Climate and Energy at CAL FIRE. “These grants will provide our partners around the state with funds to complete projects that support local economies, protect watersheds, increase public safety, and sequester carbon.”

The projects will employ a wide array of forest management strategies, with goals of wildfire resilience, watershed protection, habitat conservation for endangered species, recovery of fire-scarred and drought-impacted forests, and the reintroduction of fire as a natural ecological process.

The Dogwood Project lead by the Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority proposes fuels reduction treatments on 1,288 acres within the Eldorado National Forest, reducing the risk of high-intensity, large-scale wildfires, protecting communities, improving forest resilience, and enhancing wildlife habitat within the upper Mokelumne River watershed. The proposed mastication and hand thinning treatments will reduce excess surface fuels in strategic locations along ridge tops and upper slopes that connect with past treatments.

Several of the funded projects also include community outreach and long-term strategic planning through the California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP). CalVTP enables efficiencies in the CEQA process that can reduce review timelines from multiple years to just months, reducing redundancies without sacrificing environmental quality by allowing project sponsors to build on known and verified environmental analysis as they begin their site-specific environmental review for individual projects. These efforts are designed to promote lasting forest health, provide support for disadvantaged communities, and build on previous treatment efforts to ensure continuity and long-term effectiveness.

Three-fourths of the awarded projects will benefit disadvantaged or low-income communities. In addition to the environmental and safety benefits of forest management, such as reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires, protecting nearby communities, improving water quality and wildlife habitat, and contributing to climate change mitigation, these projects also present valuable economic opportunities.

The Northern Mendocino County Forest Health Collaborative – Phase II project with the Redwood Forest Foundation, Inc., is located in Northern Mendocino County, a rural county with a small-dispersed, low-income population. At 867 acres of forest fuel treatment, this project will provide over 80 forestry jobs for local community members, including jobs for thinning crews, equipment operators, fire crews, cultural management crews and reforestation crews. Trail work with the California Conservation Corps will provide additional jobs and learning opportunities for large crews of young adults.

The majority of CAL FIRE’s Forest Health grants are funded through the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund (TRFRF), with additional support provided by California Climate Investments (CCI), a statewide initiative that directs billions of cap-and-trade dollars toward achieving the state’s climate goals. CCI prioritizes investments that strengthen the economy, improve public health, and enhance the environment—especially in California’s most vulnerable communities.