Skip to Content
Return to Search

2025 Wildfire & Forest Resilience Directed Grant Program

Grantor:
Sierra Nevada Conservancy
Portal ID:
107157
Status:
Active
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
 | 
Categories:

Details

Purpose:

The primary focus of this Program is protecting people and communities. California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan: A Comprehensive Strategy identifies three goals that are strongly aligned with SNC’s Watershed Improvement Plan: healthy and resilient natural places, safe communities, and sustainable economies. This Program aims to support projects that result in a combination of multiple watershed, ecosystem, and community benefits.

Description:

This grant program is an immediate response to recent legislation and executive orders addressing California’s wildfire crisis.

In November of 2024, California voters approved Proposition 4 (Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Act). In April 2025, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 100, which allocates $30.9 million from Proposition 4 to the SNC for the purposes of wildfire prevention and forest resilience. On March 1, 2025, Governor Newsom signed EO N-25-25 to ensure that wildfire-safety projects funded under Assembly Bill 100 benefit from streamlining under the Statewide Fuels Reduction Environmental Protection Plan (EPP) created in response to the Emergency Proclamation issued on March 1, 2025. 

To be eligible to receive a grant award from the SNC under this Program, projects must meet all of the following criteria: have completed environmental compliance or approval under the EPP; be an implementation project with on-the-ground improvements resulting in a clear, demonstrable, and enduring public benefit; be located within the Sierra-Cascade Region; be consistent with the SNC mission and program areas as defined in the SNC Strategic Plan; be consistent with the requirements of the funding source and budget provisions; and commence on-the-ground work no later than October 15, 2026.

The primary activities of the project must include at least one of the following items: removal of hazardous, dead, and/or dying trees; removal of vegetation for the creation of strategic fuel breaks as identified by approved fire prevention plans; removal of vegetation for community defensible space; removal of vegetation along roadways, highways, and freeways for the creation of safer ingress and egress routes; removal of vegetation using cultural traditional ecological knowledge for cultural burning and/or prescribed fire treatments for fuels reduction; or improvements to previously established fuel breaks or fuels-modification projects.

Project Proposals are developed in conjunction with the SNC. Applicants may contact the appropriate Area Representative to discuss project concepts. To initiate consideration of a project, an applicant must first download and submit a Statement of Interest form. Submission instructions can be found on the SNC Grants webpage.

After submission of a Statement of Interest, a site visit may be conducted. If it is determined that the SNC will consider partnering on the project, the applicant will be asked to submit a proposal. The SNC will share the proposal form with the applicant and assist in developing the project. Proposals will be accepted and reviewed on a continuous basis until January 31, 2026, or as long as funding is available. Recommendations may be made to the SNC Governing Board on a quarterly basis. Please review the full grant program guidelines here.

The SNC may give favorable consideration to projects which: involve California Native American tribes; were developed under the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program; directly benefit SDAC, DAC, or Vulnerable Populations; engage a workforce-development effort; or enable the equitable geographic distribution of SNC resources.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Nonprofit
  • Public Agency
  • Tribal Government

Grant funds may be authorized for: Public agencies (any city, county, special district, joint powers authority, state agency, or federal agency); Qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations; and eligible tribal entities recognized by the United States and identified within the most current Federal Register, and those listed on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission as a California Native American Tribe.

Eligible Geographies:

A project must be located within SNC’s service area, the Sierra-Cascade Region defined in SNC’s governing legislation. Proposition 4 requires that at least 40 percent of the total funds available shall be allocated for projects that provide meaningful and direct benefits to vulnerable populations or disadvantaged communities. The SNC will follow these requirements for awards under the Program.

Matching Funding Requirement:

While match funding is not required, it is considered in the project evaluation process. 

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.
12/2025, 03/2026
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
Complete by 01/01/30

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$10,000,000
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.
Dependent
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 primary funding source for this Grant Program is Proposition 4, the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Act, funding appropriated to SNC. Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) will be available for this grant cycle.

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).
  • Advance(s)

Funding Method Notes:

If additional funding sources become available with purposes consistent with SNC’s Strategic Plan, the Forest Management Task Force Action Plan, and the Program as described in the Grant Guidelines, SNC may allocate those funding sources to the support of this grant program. Project requirements or limitations tied to specific funding sources or state budget allocations will be included in project selection criteria and grant agreements.

How to Apply

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

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
Shannon Ciotti, 1-530-906-7345, grants.snc@sierranevada.ca.gov

Similar to This Grant