Structures remain undamaged after the Park Fire in Butte County. Firefighters were able to effectively battle the wildfire from this location because of forest treatments and fuel breaks funded by the SNC and other agencies, which helped protect the communities of Cohasset and Forest Ranch. Grants for these types of community-protection projects may be approved at the December Board meeting.
The Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC), a California state agency focused on supporting and improving the environmental, economic, and social well-being of the Sierra-Cascade, will host its quarterly Board meeting December 11 in downtown Sacramento. Helping to expedite the early action allocation of Proposition 4 funds to reduce overly dense forest fuels and protect communities against wildfires in the Sierra-Cascade, the Board may award grants to three different projects totaling just over $4.6 million.
Members of the public are invited to attend the 10 a.m. meeting held in the California Department of Food and Agriculture Auditorium located at 1220 N Street. A live video and audio stream of the meeting will be available, although remote participation will not be possible. The public is encouraged to review potential meeting information and submit any comments by the 5 p.m. Dec. 5 deadline.
View detailed meeting information, including the full agenda for the December Board meeting.
Wildfire and forest resilience grants from Prop. 4
At the meeting, the SNC Board may approve three Wildfire and Forest Resilience grants totaling more than $4.6 million that will create more resilient forested landscapes and watersheds, while also helping to reduce wildfire risk to people and communities. The grants are funded by Prop. 4, which voters passed in November of 2024 and allocates $1.5 billion for wildfire- and forest-resilience programs across the state.
Of this amount, Prop. 4 includes $33.5 million to SNC for wildfire-resilience projects. Thanks to early action by Governor Newsom and the legislature, $30.9 million of SNC’s wildfire resilience funds were made available in April 2025. At the June 2025 Board meeting, $10 million was made available through the SNC’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Directed Grant Program.
Grants to reduce fuels, create fuel breaks
If approved by the Board, the three SNC-funded projects will be in Butte, Mono, and Madera counties.
A grant for $1,298,000 may be awarded to Chico State Enterprises for a fuel-break project that will establish 6.5 miles of continual fuel breaks in the footprint of the Park Fire in Big Chico Creek Canyon. The fuel breaks are part of the larger Butte County Community Fuel Break Project and will help protect residents in the towns of Cohasset, Forest Ranch, and the city of Chico.
The amount of $1,493,192 may be awarded to the California Deer Association to reduce fuels and improve forest health on more than 400 acres near the town of Mammoth Lakes in Mono County. The project is in the Inyo National Forest, within the Hot Creek-Owens River watershed, and part of the Eastern Sierra Climate and Communities Resilience Project, a roughly 50,000-acre effort around Mammoth Lakes to improve forest health and protect communities.
Finally, the Board may approve $1,896,856 to Eastern Madera County Fire Save Council for a project that will reconstruct a 4.7-mile, 300-acre fuel break on Sierra National Forest land in Madera County. The fuel break will help to protect the communities of Oakhurst, Bass Lake, Coarsegold, North Fork, and the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians.
Board may increase available grant funding for wildfire and forest program
Due to the robust list of eligible, quality projects submitted, SNC staff will recommend the Board increase available funding under the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Directed Grant Program from $10 million to $15 million. If approved, this will allow an additional $5 million to be awarded in the near future.