CAL FIRE Forest Health Grant

Funder: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)

The CAL FIRE Forest Health Program aims to enhance the resilience of California's forests against wildfires, drought, and pests caused by climate change and land management practices. Funding supports large-scale projects focused on restoring forest health, protecting watersheds, and promoting carbon storage through reforestation. Grants range from $750,000 to $7 million, targeting projects that yield climate benefits and further state forest management goals.

NOTE:  For this upcoming funding cycle, two grant solicitations will run simultaneously, and separate draft guidelines have been developed for each funding source. Applicants seeking consideration for both funding sources will be required to submit separate applications for each funding source once the solicitation opens.
The Forest Health Program addresses the risk to California’s forests from disturbance events including catastrophic wildfires, drought, and pest mortality. These events are the result of climate change, past land management practices, and an increasing number of people living in the wildland and urban interface.
CAL FIRE's Forest Health Program awards funding to landscape-scale land management projects that achieve the following objectives:
Restore forest health and disaster resilience to California’s forests.Protect upper watersheds where California's water supply originates.Promote long-term storage of carbon in forest trees and soils through reforestation and reduction of forest overcrowding and pests.Minimize the loss of forest carbon from unnaturally severe disturbance events by lowering and redistributing forest fuel loads.Further the goals of the California Forest Carbon Plan, California’s Natural and Working Lands Implementation Plan, California’s Wildfire & Forest Resilience Action Plan,
California’s Strategic Plan for Expanding the Use of Beneficial Fire, and AB 32 Climate Change Scoping Plan.
CAL FIRE seeks to significantly increase fuels management, fire reintroduction, and reforestation of forests degraded by overcrowding, drought, pest infestation, and catastrophic fire. All Forest Health projects must have climate benefits from one or more of the following:

• treatment activities, avoided future wildfire and fossil fuel use, or reforestation or growth and yield of remaining vegetation.
• Funding

Eligible Forest Health projects must be large capacity, landscape-scale, with multiple benefits. The minimum grant amount requested for management activity projects should be no less than $750,000, with a maximum allowable request of $7 million.