Purpose:
CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program funds active restoration and reforestation activities aimed at providing for more resilient and sustained forests to ensure future existence of forests in California while also mitigating climate change, protecting communities from fire risk, strengthening rural economies and improving California’s water & air.
Description:
Eligible Activities:
The following activities are eligible for funding through the Forest Health Program:
a. Forest Fuels Reduction – Eligible activities must focus on treating understory trees and brush with the goals of reducing fire hazards, improving tree growth, stabilizing carbon in retained trees, and increasing forest resilience.
b. Prescribed Fire – Eligible activities must focus on the need to reintroduce fires to fire-adapted forest ecosystems.
c. Pest Management – Eligible activities must address pest control and related forest health improvement, while reducing pest-related mortality, improving tree growth, stabilizing carbon retained in trees, and increasing forest resilience.
d. Reforestation – Eligible activities should establish a diverse, native forest, which will result in stable carbon sequestration and storage, improved watershed and habitat functions, and forest resilience.
e. Biomass Utilization – Eligible activities must: 1) utilize woody biomass for wood products such as post and pole, firewood, dimensional lumber, plywood, or other products which allows for continued carbon storage; 2) generate energy though combustion or gasification, which displaces carbon-intensive fossil fuel-based energy; or 3) utilize woody biomass to help develop markets for beneficial uses of the material.
Eligible Organizations:
CAL FIRE will enter into grant agreements with local, state, and federal publicagencies; Native American tribes; universities; special districts; industrial and nonindustrial private forest landowners; and non-profit organizations
Activities must be applied across large landscapes to achieve regional resilience. Projects that implement a mix of activities with multiple, experienced partners will be given priority. Projects may include planning, organizational and business capacity-building, and workforce and infrastructure development as components of proposed projects. Up to 10% of the total project budget may be spent on such activities.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions Requirement:
All Forest Health projects must have climate benefits from 1) treatment activities, 2) avoided future wildfire and fossil fuel use, and/or 3) reforestation and/or growth and yield of remaining vegetation. Applicants are required to submit supporting documentation to enable CAL FIRE staff to validate benefits using the Forest Health Quantification Methodology and Calculator Tool developed by CAL FIRE and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
Project Scale: Forest Health projects must focus on large, landscape-scale forestlands composed of one or more landowners, which may cover multiple jurisdictions.
Funding Limits: Eligible Forest Health projects must be large, landscape-scale, with multiple benefits. The minimum grant amount requested should be no less than $750,000. The maximum allowable amount is $5 million.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligible Applicants:
- Business
- Individual
- Public Agency
- Tribal Government
Eligible Organizations and Partners:
CAL FIRE will enter into grant agreements with local, state, and federal public agencies; Native American tribes; universities; special districts; industrial and non-industrial private forest landowners; and non-profit organizations.
Eligible Geographies:
California
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