Keeping Fire on the Landscape: Maintaining Carbon Balance and Forest Resilience

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

At the University of California’s Blodgett Forest Research Station in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains, the long running Fire and Fire Surrogate study has provided critical information to forest managers and landowners on the use of prescribed fire and restoration thinning. With a $454,772 grant from California Climate Investments through the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Forest Health Research Program, Dr. John Battles, Dr. Scott Stephens, and other researchers are continuing this important work with an eye towards understanding the value of repeated application of fuel reduction treatments on Sierra Nevada mixed‑conifer forests. Forest managers and landowners throughout the state and beyond will be able to use the results of this study to inform their management actions and policy decisions in the face of warming climate and increasing wildfires.

Enhancing Forest Resilience in Modoc County

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

In collaboration with forest industry and utility partners and the Modoc National Forest, the Pit Resource Conservation District is implementing a $5 million California Climate Investments Forest Health grant to increase forest resilience in Modoc County. The fuels reduction and prescribed fire activities funded by this project will take place on public and private lands to increase forest resilience, accelerate reforestation of severely burned forests, and reduce the risk of future catastrophic fire impacts to local communities, ecosystems, and natural resources. This project complements efforts by state, federal, and local agencies to increase the pace and scale of fuel treatments in California’s forests.

Suppressing Wildfire with Fuel Breaks in Elk Creek and Stonyford

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

The Elk Creek Fuel Break, one of the 35 emergency fuel reduction projects prioritized in the Governor’s 2019 Community Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Report, was completed in part with $325,000 in California Climate Investments funds. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection implemented the project to protect lives, property, and valuable agricultural resources in the communities of Elk Creek and Stonyford, which are adjacent to the Mendocino National Forest. During the 2020 Butte/Tehama/Glenn Lightning Complex Fire, the Elk Creek Fuel Break helped contain the fire with eight miles of fire line.

Rebuilding Healthy Soil on the Urban Edge of Chico

California Department of Food and Agriculture

Pamela Posey of Harpos Organics is revitalizing soil health on two acres of walnut trees that have been farmed for more than 40 years. Since her December 2017 purchase of the property, located on the urban edge of Chico, California, Posey has managed the land using healthy soil management practices. In her quest to restore the property from the ground up, Posey turned to the Healthy Soils Program and received a $8,860 grant from California Climate Investments with a $1,500 cost share to achieve her goals of improving the health of the soil and providing increased biodiversity.

Capturing Methane to Create Renewable Fuels in Kern County

California Department of Food and Agriculture

The CalBioGas Kern County biogas cluster – or Kern Cluster – was developed by a joint venture between California Bioenergy, Chevron U.S.A. Incorporated, and several California dairy farmers. The Dairy Digester Research and Development Program has awarded grants totaling over $17.6 million from California Climate Investments to the dairy operations in the Kern Cluster, which is comprised of eight family‑owned dairy farms. Thanks to these funds, these dairies now capture and prevent the release of methane – a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide – and are creating a renewable source of fuel.

Supporting Ecosystem, Community, and Cultural Resilience at Clover Valley Ranch

California Department of Fish and Wildlife

With help from a $680,974 grant from California Climate Investments through the Wetlands & Watershed Restoration Program, the Sierra Fund and project partners are carrying out multi‑benefit restoration efforts at the 2,655‑acre Clover Valley Ranch. Initiated in 2017, this project will sequester nearly 188,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent while halting stream incision; increasing biodiversity; and improving hydrologic function, flood reduction, sediment filtration and water quality. However, the goal of this project extends beyond of ecosystem function and carbon sequestration benefits; these activities will also support community and cultural resilience through the promotion of cultural skills and activities.

Bringing Electrification and Energy Efficiency to Low-Income San Francisco Communities

California Department of Community Services and Development

The Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation’s (TNDC) commitment to help San Francisco’s low‑income communities thrive by building affordable housing was energized by an electrification project at its SOMA Studio and Family Apartments (SOMA Apartments) in 2020. The effort is supported by a $633,000 award from California Climate Investments through the Department of Community Services and Development’s Low Income Weatherization Program’s (LIWP) Multi‑Family component. With that money and contributions from other local energy efficiency programs, TNDC kept utility bills low for residents while electrifying major central building systems and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Built in 2003, the SOMA Apartments include 162 homes with more than 60 percent of its households classified as extremely low‑income (earning less than 30 percent of the area median income).

Training and Partnerships Bring Community Solar to Low-Income Households

California Department of Community Services and Development

Thanks to $2 million from California Climate Investments through the Low‑Income Weatherization Program, GRID Alternatives Inland Empire is implementing the Community Solar Pilot project, the first community solar array in California specifically designed to benefit low‑income households. Situated on Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indian tribal lands in Riverside County, the Community Solar Pilot project will not only lower energy costs for tribal members and other low‑income households but also provided an opportunity for tribal members to gain valuable experience as solar installation trainees.

Reducing Fire Risk Through Hands-On Training Opportunities

California Conservation Corps

The California Conservation Corps, a state department within the California Natural Resources Agency, uses funds from California Climate Investments to complete projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions across California. These funds target forest health projects, especially fuel load reduction where dead and dying trees, brush, and vegetation are removed to reduce wildfire intensity and rate of spread. The McKay Community Forest Fuel Reduction project provided skilled labor to Humboldt County to minimize fire danger near communities on the southeastern edge of the City of Eureka.

California Climate Investments | Cap-and-Trade Dollars at Work