The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) announced the availability of up to $240 million for Wildfire Prevention and Forest Health grant project
16 December 2022
Published by: https://www.hometownstation.com
USA – As a result of this funding, Cal Fire is soliciting applications for projects that prevent catastrophic wildfires, protect communities, and restore forests to healthy, functioning ecosystems while also sequestering carbon and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The Cal Fire Wildfire Prevention Grants Program seeks to award up to $120 million for local projects in and near fire-threatened communities that focus on increasing the protection of people, structures, and communities.
According to Cal Fire, qualified activities include hazardous fuels reduction, wildfire prevention planning and wildfire prevention education with an emphasis on improving public health and safety while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The program is set to award up to $120 million to landscape scale forest restoration projects that restore forest resilience to catastrophic disturbance. Eligible activities include forest fuels reduction, fire reintroduction, reforestation, and utilization of forest biomass.
An additional $50 million is available for post-fire reforestation and restoration and finally, $19 million is available for Tribal Wildfire Resilience planning and implementation projects, according to Cal Fire.
Wildfire Prevention and Forest Health 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.
The call for applications opened on Dec. 14, 2022. Applications are due by 3:00 PM on March 15, 2023.
For the Forest Health Grants Program, the call for applications opens on Dec. 15, 2022. Applications are due by 3:00 PM on Feb. 28, 2023.
Public workshops are scheduled both in-person and virtually. Check the Wildfire Prevention Grants web pages for dates, times, and locations.
These workshops will be recorded and made available on the corresponding grants web pages. Forest Health program will only release a recorded workshop.
