The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announces it 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. Locally, the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment received a grant to improve forest health in the Dixie Fire area.

Through its Forest Health Program, Cal Fire has awarded 12 grants statewide 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, the agency said.

Forest health grant projects must focus on large, landscape-scale forestlands that include 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.

The North Fork Feather All Lands Forest Health project, administered by the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment, was awarded $6,999,780. Sierra Institute, in partnership with the Plumas National Forest, private timberland managers and local landowners, will use the funds to improve forest health in some of the largest remaining green stands within the Dixie Fire footprint, including those near Taylorsville and Greenville. Cal Fire says treatments will enhance resilience to drought, pests and wildfires across diverse ownerships. This project builds on past treatments to boost forest health.

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Details of the other 11 funded projects are available on the Forest Health Program website.

“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.

Several of the funded projects also include community outreach and long-term strategic planning through the California Vegetation Treatment Program. Cal Fire said CalVTP enables efficiencies in the California Environmental Quality Act 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,” said the agency.

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, said Cal Fire.

The majority of Cal Fire’s forest health grants are funded through the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund, with additional support provided by California Climate Investments, 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.