Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grants

Tribal Wildfire Resilience grants is part of CAL FIRE’s Climate and Energy Program and supports California Native American tribes in managing ancestral lands, implementing and promoting Traditional Environmental Knowledges in wildfire resilience, and establishing wildfire safety for tribal communities.

Tribal Wildfire Resilience grants fund planning and implementation projects that serve California Native American Tribes and advance wildfire resilience, forest health, and cultural use of fire. These projects address critical needs in tribal communities, and may include:

  • Cultural and prescribed burns
  • Creation and maintenance of shaded fuel breaks
  • Forest and wildfire resilience projects such as dead and dying tree removal, understory thinning and/or removal, tree or other native and/or traditional vegetation plantings
  • Forest health projects that provide benefits such as increasing biodiversity and improving access to and use of traditional foods and culturally significant species
  • Workforce Development and training programs in fire, forestry, and related Traditional Ecological Knowledges
  • Mapping projects
  • Development of restoration plans, fire or forest management plans
  • Biological and cultural surveys
  • Environmental compliance and permitting

Map of Current Projects

A map depicting current areas of the state where tribal wildfire resilience grants ($19 million dollars total) have been allocated

Funding Availability

Applications are currently closed.

We expect the next solicitation for applications will open in Winter 2023-2024.

We expect that there will be $10 million total available for all grants in Winter 2023-2024, followed by $10 million available in Winter 2024-2025. 

Grant Information

RESOURCES FOR GRANTEES

Tribal Wildfire Resilience grant proposals must be between $250,000 and $5,000,000. Proposals can include planning, implementation, and workforce development/training. 

  1. Projects must serve California Native American tribes and their communities located within the State of California.   
  2. Projects must establish and/or improve wildfire resilience and/or forest health on tribal ancestral lands or prepare tribes to develop and/or increase wildfire resilience and/or forest health through planning activities.

  1. Federally recognized Native American tribes
  2. Non-federally recognized California Native American tribes listed on the California Tribal Contact List maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission as described in Section 65352.4 of the Government Code. 

Tribal Wildfire Resilience Team held Virtual Roundtable Workshops to discuss

CAL FIRE's Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grants Program in December 2022.

Roundtable Workshop Recording

Roundtable Workshop Slide Deck

Resources and Links

Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grants work as needed with CAL FIRE’s Cultural Resource Management Program, including archeologists and CAL FIRE’s Tribal Liaison.

  • Tribal Nature Based Solutions from California Natural Resources Agency (Applications due Sept 29, 2023): grants for ancestral land return, land management planning, and land management implementation.
  • Workforce Development & Business Development Grants with CAL FIRE (due October 1, 2023): business and workforce development projects that support healthy resilient forests and the people and ecosystems that depend on them. Includes wood products infrastructure, biomass process and manufacturing technology, training, and research and development.
  • Tribal Research Grant Program (Applications due November 17, 2023): grants for tribally led climate change research initiatives.
  • Tribal Capacity Building Pilot Program with Strategic Growth Council (due February 2024): grants and technical assistance to build staff capacity and advance climate-related work, including planning, grant writing, and project management.
  • Forest Health Grants with CAL FIRE (expected Fall 2023): landscape scale (800+ acres) forest restoration and management projects including fuels reduction, reforestation, biomass utilization.
  • Wildfire Prevention Grants with CAL FIRE (expected Fall 2023): Funds for projects in and near fire threatened communities to improve public health and safety.
  • California Grants Portal: Searchable website listing all State of CA grant and loan programs.

Contacts

We are grateful for your interest in Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grants. For information or any questions, please contact us at TribalWildfireResilienceGrants@fire.ca.gov.

Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grants are managed by CAL FIRE in partnership with the California Natural Resources Agency

Robin Bellows

Program Manager
Robin.Bellows@fire.ca.gov
(916) 224-5584

Lindsay Dallison

Grants Manager
Lindsay.Dallison@fire.ca.gov

Jordan Inzunza

Grant Manager
Jordan.Inzunza@fire.ca.gov

Climate & Energy Environmental Compliance

CEgrants.CEQA@fire.ca.gov

A controlled burn on tribal land

The 2023 Spring Solicitation has closed.

Contact: TribalWildfireResilienceGrants@fire.ca.gov

CAL FIRE Grants

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