By Cal Fire
Contributed
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) announced the availability of over $80 million for forest health and fire prevention projects. Cal Fire is soliciting applications for projects that work to proactively prevent catastrophic wildfires and restore forests to healthy, functioning ecosystems while also sequestering carbon and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Cal Fire’s forest health grant program seeks to significantly increase reforestation, fuels management, fire reintroduction, and treatment of degraded areas. An additional $7 million will be available through the Forest Legacy Program to conserve environmentally important forest land threatened with conversion to non-forest uses, and up to $2 million will be available specifically for applied research examining forest management and health.
Cal Fire’s Fire Prevention Grant Program seeks to fund local projects that address the risk of wildfire and reduce wildfire potential to communities in, and adjacent to, forested areas. Qualified activities include hazardous fuel reduction, fire prevention planning and fire prevention education with an emphasis on improving public health and safety.
Find more information and sign up for announcements at www.fire.ca.gov/grants.
Official call for applications:
Fire prevention program: The call for applications opened on Sept. 25 and will be due by 3 p.m. on Dec. 4.
Forest health program: The call for applications will open on Sept. 27 and will be due by 3 p.m. on Dec. 6.
Public workshops will be held throughout California starting Sept. 30 and additional recorded webinars will be made available online.
These grant programs are part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.
These programs serve to complement the 35 priority fuels reduction and fire prevention projects that Cal Fire has undertaken at the direction of Gov. Gavin Newson. They also complement the State Forest Carbon Plan, which seeks to increase the ability of our forests to capture carbon and improve forest health.
