What We Do
20 Years of Impact
Read our 20th Anniversary Impact Report celebrating what we’ve accomplished with our partners in the Sierra-Cascade.
![Sierra Nevada Watershed Improvement Program](/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2019/11/WIPlogo-whiteCircle_500x500-300x300.png)
Sierra NevadaWatershed Improvement Program (WIP)
Our Watershed Improvement Program is a large-scale, holistic effort throughout California’s Sierra-Cascade region. The WIP is:
- restoring resilience to forests and rural communities
- supporting sustainable recreation and tourism
- conserving natural and working lands
How the WIP is Restoring Resilience
Work on the Ground
We fund projects that reduce wildfire risk, improve outdoor access, protect biodiversity, and more. To date, we have awarded over $250 million.
Capacity-Building
We work with local organizations to build workforce and organizational capacity and generate a pipeline of projects. Capacity is key to increasing restoration efforts and supporting rural economies.
Science and Policy
We support scientific research projects and participate in technical and policy advisory groups. We use local and regional knowledge to inform decisionmakers and advance forest management strategies.
Recent Highlights
![Two people standing in front of a preserve sign with green grass and oak trees in the background.](https://sierranevada.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2024/06/KotomyanVistaSign-150x150.jpg)
Big Hill Preserve gets bigger, vital habitat connectivity expands in Sierra foothills
![View of highway 88 curving up the mountain with healthy dispersed pine trees by the road side.](https://sierranevada.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2024/05/View-88_Panorama-2-150x150.jpg)
Proposition 68 delivers a nature-based solution to Amador County wildfire risk
![a group of four people sit on a stage with a projector screen behind them. A man stands at a podium and speaks into a microphone on the right side of the stage.](https://sierranevada.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2024/03/2024wipSummit-panel1-150x150.jpg)
SNC celebrates 20 years of impact at WIP Summit
![forest with large tree stump in foreground with some dead trees and twigs on the ground](https://sierranevada.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2024/03/2024marchBoardMtg-tule-FI-150x150.jpg)
SNC awards $27.5 million to help with wildfire recovery and forest resilience throughout Sierra-Cascade
![a rock mostly buried in dirt with seven circular holes in it has a grassy meadow behind it that is peppered with purple and yellow wildflowers.](https://sierranevada.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2024/01/ackersonMeadow-grindingStone-150x150.jpg)
Early SNC grant leads to Yosemite meadow protection & restoration
![aerial looking down at a small town along a river surrounded by steep mountains blanketed in green trees](https://sierranevada.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2023/12/northYuba-Downieville-150x150.jpg)
Early support from SNC leads to critical federal funding for North Yuba
The WIP Stands Ready
The WIP is poised to increase the pace and scale of work throughout our service area. We are tracking millions of dollars in shovel-ready projects, and projects in development, through the dozens of collaborative groups our staff are engaged in.
Urgent Issues, Urgent Action
The partnerships built through WIP have positioned us to quickly and effectively put state funding on the ground to address some of the region’s, and California’s, most pressing concerns.
We received $37 million for wildfire-recovery and forest-resilience work in Sierra-Cascade from the California Budget Act of 2023. Following a competitive grant process, we awarded grants to 16 projects totaling $27.5 million in March 2024, and we awarded grants to four projects totaling $6 million in June 2024.
WIP at Work
![Woman standing at podium with 3 panelists seated to her left and a projector screen to her right, all facing a crowd of seated people inside a room](/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2022/09/LIS-taskForceMtg.jpg)
Landscape Investment Strategy
Modern megafires and disturbances are occurring across huge landscapes. To match this scale, we are pooling funding from multiple sources to deliver large grants to landscape-scale restoration initiatives. We created this strategy with our partners who develop, plan, and implement projects.Learn more
![machine stacking a bunch of small trees on the ground in the forest](/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2021/03/biomass-MechanicalThinning.jpg)
WIP Local Assistance Grants
We fund projects that restore, protect, and enhance Sierra-Cascade watersheds and communities. Our strong partnerships allow us to efficiently get state funding on the ground.Learn more
![four people wearing hard hats and backpacks are looking up at a few giant trees](/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2020/12/rffcp-intro-FeatIm.jpg)
RFFCP Capacity Building
We are using Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program (RFFCP) funding to increase regional capacity to develop and implement projects. This will help build the human and organizational infrastructure needed for large-scale restoration efforts.Learn more
![A man standing in a forest wearing a hard hat is looking into a small machine on top of a tripod with a few other people in hard hats standing by](/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2021/08/lidar-frenchMeadows.jpg)
Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative (TCSI)
We co-founded this partnership in 2017. TCSI partners are working across jurisdictions to plan landscape-scale forest resilience projects, secure funding, and coordinate work across 2.4 million acres.Learn more
Regional Challenges, State Priorities
Today, many wildfires are burning larger and more severely. As detailed in our 2014 State of the Sierra Nevada’s Forests Report and expanded on in the 2017 Update, decades of fire suppression and historic timber harvests have created overcrowded and unhealthy forests that fuel more destructive fire behavior.
Fires like the Dixie, Caldor, Creek, and North Complex have devastated communities and caused significant damage to the resources the region provides, including water, wildlife habitat, recreational access, and carbon storage. We know from the Mokelumne Avoided Cost Analysis, that fires like these are much more expensive to respond to than prevent.
Impacts from large, damaging wildfires in the region are felt across the state as they degrade air quality, jeopardize the state water system, and offset progress towards California’s air quality and climate goals.
Learn more about specific challenges and priorities: