CAL FIRE Forest Health Research Program Grant

CAL FIRE Forest Health Research Program Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)
Amount: Up to US $750,000
Last Updated: April 04, 2026

Summary

The CAL FIRE Forest Health Research Program aims to enhance forest resilience in California by funding critical research in forest health and fire science. This initiative, part of the California Climate Investments, supports studies that address vital topics such as wildfire management, ecological impacts, and socio-economic factors. By prioritizing scientific research, the program ensures that actionable insights are available for forest management decisions to combat climate change effects and promote biodiversity.

Overview

Mission The Forest Health Research Program was established as part of CAL FIRE’s plan for implementing the California Forest Carbon Plan. It is one of several CAL FIRE programs funded through the California Climate Investments (CCI) program, Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The mission of the Research Program is to identify and prioritize research topics in forest health and fire science critical to the State of California,to fund sound scientific studies that support forest landowners, resource agencies, and fire management organizations within the state,to ensure scientific information generated from the program is made available to support decision making and policy, andto further the goals of the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, California Forest Carbon Plan, the California Natural and Working Lands Implementation Plan, CCI, and AB 32 Global Warming Solutions Act. Priority Research Topics The following topics have been identified as priorities for study for the Research Program. Topics are numbered for reference, but not ranked in terms of priority.  Research proposed under this solicitation must address one or more of these priority topics. Research projects should be focused on and relevant to California ecosystems and their management. Disturbance, recovery, and strategies for various types of landowners to increase forest resilience in an altered future climate.Implementation, effectiveness, impacts, and tradeoffs of current and alternative management strategies to reduce unwanted wildfire impacts, increase carbon storage, sustain and promote biodiversity, improve water and air quality, and provide regional economic benefits.Contemporary range of variation and trends in fire regimes, forest conditions and distributions in California ecosystems (particularly those less well studied) in relation to historical or pre European settlement conditions or processes.Forest products and utilization of forest residues related to fuel reduction and forest health treatments.Human dimensions, socio-economic considerations, and environmental justice issues related to forest health and wildfire management.Improved prediction of wildland fire spread, behavior, severity, patch size, and potential impacts, particularly under extreme weather conditions and/or within the wildland-urban interface

Eligibility

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