Post-Fire Disaster Recovery: $18.3 Million to Recover Private Lands Burned in California’s Recent Unprecedented Wildfire Events
Post-Fire Disaster Recovery: $18.3 Million to Recover Private Lands Burned in California’s Recent Unprecedented Wildfire Events
SACRAMENTO, CA, March 2024 – The California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (CARCD) was awarded 18.3 million dollars from the USDA Forest Service in Post Fire Disaster Recovery Funds.
High severity wildfire is causing California to lose its forests. Between 2019 and 2021, over 7 million acres of California burned. Without active wildfire recovery, forest cover and health will be jeopardized. These funds support resource conservation districts (RCDs) implementation of post-fire restoration on small private forestlands burned from 2019-2021.
Using these funds, CARCD announced subawards to 10 RCDs. This funding allows RCDs to shape or start creating programs resembling Emergency Forest Restoration Teams (EFRTs). The subgrantees include: Butte County RCD, Coarsegold RCD, Humboldt County RCD, Inland Empire RCD, Napa County RCD, Shasta Valley RCD, Solano RCD, Sierra RCD, RCD of Tehama County, and Western Shasta RCD. Awards ranged from $80,000 - $6,327,000. The efforts under this pass-through grant include, but are not limited to, recovery work on Karuk Tribal land burned in the Slater Fire; vegetation management in stream corridors burned in the LNU Fire in Solano County; recovery for private landowners whose property burned in the Creek Fire in Fresno County; wildfire rehabilitation on private properties in Shasta, Humboldt, Tehama, and Siskiyou Counties; development of a Small Forest Landowners Assistance Program for restoration treatments in Butte County; and recovery on the Bear Paw Reserve in the San Bernardino Mountains. Many of these programs provide post-fire assessments, planning, site preparation, and reforestation, combating forest loss.
What are Emergency Forest Restoration Teams?
California’s history of fire suppression policies, increasing forest stand densities, and prolonged drought have amplified tree mortality and catastrophic wildfires in California. In response, California’s governor created the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force and released an Action Plan in 2021. Nested within the first goal, is Key Action 1.14, which established EFRTs. EFRTs enable partner entities (e.g. resource conservation districts (RCDs)) to provide rapid post-wildfire recovery assessment and implementation to private nonindustrial forest landowners. They also provide technical and financial assistance to restore private forestland and prevent further damage.
“With the increasing size and severity of wildfires in California, recovery projects to restore forested landscapes are crucial,” said Nancy Wahl-Scheurich, Executive Director of CARCD. “RCDs are unique organizations that bring local communities into recovery efforts to create impactful change. We are excited to support RCDs in these efforts.”
The California Association of Resource Conservation Districts is a 501c3 non-profit membership-based organization dedicated to serving as a strong advocate, technical resource, and partner to the state’s 95 Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs). RCDs make conservation happen on-the-ground by partnering with local communities on a voluntary basis to care for California’s land, water, soil, and other natural resources.
carcd.org
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