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CAL FIRE Forest Health

Grantor:
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Portal ID:
8222
Status:
Closed (35 total applications submitted)
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
 | 
Categories:

Details

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
  • Nonprofit
  • 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

Important Dates

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight.
The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
Spring 2022
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
Proposals due 3/4/22

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$120,000,000
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
$750,000 – $5,000,000
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
No
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
No
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • State

Funding Source Notes:

The Forest Health Program is part of California Climate Investments (CCI), a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing GHG emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities.

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Advances & Reimbursement(s)

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
Julie Howard, 1-831-345-4942, ForestHealth@fire.ca.gov

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