North Bay Forest Improvement Program
Welcome to the North Bay Forest Improvement Program
Conservation Works, in partnership with the Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) of Sonoma, Gold Ridge, Mendocino and Napa counties and Clear Lake Environmental Center of Lake County, is offering the North Bay Forest Improvement Program to forest landowners across the four-county North Bay region. This program is made possible thanks to $5.9 million in funding awarded through two CALFIRE Wildfire Resilience and Forestry Assistance block grants.
This program brings critical resources to treat wildfire hazards on private properties throughout the region, with a focus on serving disadvantaged communities. The North Bay Forest Improvement Program (NBFIP) supports the planning and implementation of projects on private forested lands to reduce the risks of wildfire and promote forest health. The program provides financial incentives to landowners to conduct this critical work.
What is the purpose of this program?
The North Bay Forest Improvement Program was created to provide public funds to support private investment in forest health and resilience projects to reduce vegetative fuel loads and risks of wildfire, insect infestation, and disease epidemics on private properties in the North Bay’s diverse and valuable forestlands. The intent of the program is to increase the pace, scale and effectiveness of forest treatments in the North Bay Area by incentivizing and supporting private non-industrial landowners to implement beneficial forest improvements where they would not otherwise be possible because of financial hardship. Assisting landowners in census designated disadvantaged communities is a priority of the program.
How is this program funded?
This program is made possible thanks to $5.9 million dollars in funding awarded through CAL FIRE’s Wildfire Resilience and Forestry Assistance grant. This project is focused on providing funding for eligible entities (such as RCDs and environmental nonprofits) to provide technical and financial assistance to forestland owners. The purpose of the funding is to allow grantees the ability to provide a program of financial and technical forestry assistance to nonindustrial forest landowners, where the grantee serves as the supervising entity, receives the grant from CAL FIRE and then provides outreach and/or technical/financial assistance to landowners so they can conduct forest restoration or management activities on their property. Conservation Works is the proud to administer this grant, in partnership with the Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) of Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, and Napa counties and Clear Lake Environmental Center (CLERC). This pilot program is now serving as a model for other regions across the state.