Program Overview

What is the Landscape Grant Program?
The Landscape Grant Program (LGP) is a Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) grant program that supports large, landscape-scale forest and watershed-resilience efforts across the Sierra-Cascade Region. The program funds collaborative partnerships working across large landscapes to implement coordinated portfolios of projects that improve forest health, reduce wildfire risk, and strengthen ecological and community resilience.
The program is part of SNC’s Landscape Investment Strategy, which aims to increase the pace and scale of restoration work needed to address wildfire, climate, and watershed challenges in the Region.

How is this grant different from other SNC grants?
The LGP focuses on large landscapes and collaborative efforts, rather than individual projects. Key differences include:

• Funding is directed toward landscape-scale project portfolios.
• The funding is flexible to best meet the needs of the collaborative and advance portfolios in the most efficient and effective way possible
• Unlike SNC’s other grant programs, it is a directed grant program that does not issue an open request for proposals but instead leverages SNC’s deep regional knowledge and relationships with partners to identify grantees

Why did the SNC create this program?
The SNC developed the LGP because the scale of the wildfire and forest-health crisis exceeds the scale of most current restoration efforts. The program is intended to help partners plan and implement restoration work across entire landscapes and watersheds to achieve meaningful change within a 5–10-year timeframe.

What does the LGP fund?
The LGP will fund projects and activities that are part of a portfolio of restoration and resilience projects developed by landscape collaboratives. These projects are intended to address ecological and community priorities, such as forest health, wildfire resilience, and watershed protection across a large landscape. The SNC will work with grantees to target LGP funding to the treatments and activities that will most effectively advance the project portfolio.

Specific eligible expenses and example eligible activities are described in the program guidelines.

How does the LGP link to the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program (RFFCP)?
The RFFCP is a Department of Conservation grant program that SNC administers in the Sierra-Cascade Region. The RFFCP funds capacity building grants to organizations, tribes, and local government entities to prepare these entities to receive implementation grants and collaborate on larger landscape grants. The RFFCP funds planning, collaboration, implementation, and other elements of effective landscape-scale restoration and stewardship effort. Also, see the RFFCP/Regional Priority Plan Explorer section below. As an RFFCP regional block grantee, SNC has been administering RFFCP funding to build the capacity of organizations and collaboratives in the Sierra Nevada Region. Many of these collaboratives have built the partnerships, plan, and project portfolio needed to be eligible to receive landscape grant funding.

Eligibility

If my landscape isn’t within the Sierra-Cascade Region, where can I find landscape-scale funding?
The SNC can only fund projects within the SNC service area. The state agency CAL FIRE is administering a “Regional Wildfire and Landscape Resilience Grant” for areas outside of SNC’s Region. The SNC recognizes that some collaboratives have landscapes that cross our Regional boundary; SNC works closely with the Department of Conservation and CAL FIRE to ensure that these landscapes are eligible for landscape-scale funding. Collaboratives with questions about location and eligibility should contact SNC staff.

How do I know if my collaborative is eligible for a Landscape Program Grant?
Collaboratives are eligible for the LGP if they represent an “Investment Ready Landscape” as identified on the Investment Ready Landscapes Map. To be considered “Investment Ready,” SNC must determine that a collaborative meets all of the following four criteria:

• A clearly defined landscape and affiliated collaborative
• A collaboratively prioritized list of projects
• Demonstrated capacity to administer and implement a landscape-scale program of work
• Demonstrated readiness to act, including several million dollars (est. $10 million) in shovel-ready projects

The SNC determines “readiness” based on our longstanding engagement with regional organizations and collaboratives, information acquired through RFFCP reports (although collaboratives do not have to be affiliated with the RFFCP to be eligible), collaborative/organization websites, and direct engagement with collaborative representatives. Collaborative information and readiness status will be updated by the SNC regularly. Collaboratives not currently on the list of Investment Ready Landscapes may contact the Area Representative for their Subregion to request consideration for the next update.

What if my landscape boundary overlaps with another landscape?
The SNC recognizes that collaborative landscapes sometimes overlap, often due to a difference in collaborative goals (e.g. a focus on community protection within the WUI vs a focus on watershed health). In these cases, a collaborative that is being considered as an LGP finalist will need to demonstrate that it is coordinating with collaborative groups with overlapping landscapes and that there is a compelling reason to operate as separate collaboratives.

Does compliance need to be complete to be eligible for a Landscape Program Grant?
To be an “Investment Ready Landscape” – the first phase of eligibility – collaboratives must have several (~10 million dollars’ worth) of shovel-ready projects that comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), if applicable.

Under the LGP both planning and implementation activities are considered eligible. Although the SNC will work with grantees to determine the suite of planning and implementation project activities that most effectively advance a portfolio of work, SNC expects most of the LGP dollars to go towards implementation.

Will monitoring expenses be eligible?
Yes. Monitoring expenses are eligible under SNC’s LGP. The SNC also intends to work with grantees to identify landscape-appropriate outcomes and success metrics aligned with state and local collaborative goals and will support the data collection and analysis needed to develop and evaluate those metrics within an adaptive management framework.

Can I apply for other SNC grants and still be considered for an LGP grant?
Yes. The SNC expects to award only 4–5 Landscape Grant Program grants and encourages eligible partners to also apply to SNC’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Grant Program, which will open this summer. Because the LGP grant process does not require a separate application, pursuing both opportunities should not create a significant additional workload.

Submitting an application to the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Grant Program will not negatively affect a collaborative’s chances of receiving an LGP grant. However, once LGP grant recipients are identified, SNC may prioritize non-LGP recipients for Wildfire and Forest Resilience funding to maximize the distribution of resources.

Readiness and Evaluation

How do I apply for an LGP grant?
Unlike many SNC grant programs, the LGP does not have an open application process. Instead, SNC identifies potential Investment Ready Landscapes and collaboratives through an internal evaluation process, based on Regional expertise and longstanding engagement with partners, and may invite selected groups to participate in the program.

How are collaboratives evaluated?
For the LGP, SNC uses a three-phase evaluation process.

1. The SNC first identifies landscapes (and affiliated collaboratives) that may be ready for landscape-scale investment. To learn more about how Investment Ready Landscapes are defined, see SNC’s Regional Priority Plan Explorer and the criteria for readiness.
2. The SNC evaluates collaborative capacity, including governance/decision-making structure, administrative capacity, and the process for developing a prioritized project portfolio. Additional details on Phase II evaluation criteria can be found in the LGP guidelines.
3. Top-ranking collaboratives are invited to participate in an interview with SNC to review their project portfolio, proposed program of work, and expected ecological and socioeconomic outcomes. More information about Phase III criteria can be found in the LGP guidelines.

Phases I and II consist of an internal evaluation based on SNC staff engagement with local collaboratives, past grant experience, RFFCP reports, and publicly available information. The SNC may contact collaboratives directly if more information is needed. Phase III consists of an interview with selected collaboratives. Finalists will receive information on how to prepare for the interview.

Following this process, selected groups may then be recommended to the SNC Governing Board for funding consideration.

Do I need to be an RFFCP subgrantee to be considered?
No.

What if my collaborative isn’t “ready”?
Collaboratives that are not yet investment-ready can continue developing their partnerships, project portfolios, and implementation capacity. The SNC will continue to support collaboratives and organizations at every stage of “readiness” through staff support, our capacity building program, and our local assistance grant programs. The SNC also issues a newsletter highlighting non-SNC funding opportunities. To learn more about the type of funding and support offered by SNC, please see our grant webpage.

How often is ‘readiness’ evaluated?
The SNC will reassess landscape readiness at least annually and will update the Investment Ready Landscapes Map over time as conditions, partnerships, and capacity change. The SNC will continue to incorporate updates on collaborative information and capacity through ongoing SNC staff engagement with local collaboratives, RFFCP reports, and publicly available sources. The SNC will also announce publicly when new funding is made available for LGP grants and will encourage collaboratives to provide updates, which will be considered in future iterations of the Investment Ready Landscapes Map.

Will SNC continue to fund other grant programs?
Yes. The SNC continues to administer multiple grant programs that support capacity building, forest health, watershed protection, recreation, community resilience, and land conservation, depending on available funding.

Funding Amounts and Timeline

How much funding is available in the LGP?
The SNC received $45 million from the 2024 California Climate Bond to support landscape-scale restoration efforts. With these initial funds, the SNC expects to award 4-5 grants in the range of $8-12 million dollars each.

When will the LGP awards be made?
The LGP Guidelines will go before the SNC Governing Board in June 2026. If the Board approves the guidelines, evaluations begin in summer of 2026, with Phase III interviews likely scheduled in the fall. Recommendations for awards may be taken to our Board in December 2026 or March 2027.

Who can receive and administer an LGP grant?
Grants must be administered by an eligible entity, such as a public agency, nonprofit organization, or federally recognized tribe that can serve as the grant recipient and fiscal administrator. Collaboratives typically include multiple partners, but one eligible entity must serve as the grant administrator. The SNC is also willing to consider distributing grant funds to multiple partners within the collaborative.

How long do grantees have to expend funding?
Current funding expires in 2030.

RFFCP and Regional Priority Plans

What is the Regional Priority Plan Explorer?
The Sierra Nevada-Cascade Regional Priority Plan Explorer (RPP Explorer) is an interactive database that tracks collaboratives engaged in forest and community health and resilience across the Region. It includes information about collaborative membership, governance, and project portfolios, helping the SNC and partners understand where landscape-scale restoration work is occurring.

How do I make sure my collaborative is included in the RPP Explorer?
Collaboratives typically connect through the RFFCP or other engagement with SNC staff and area representatives to make sure their information is reflected in the RPP Explorer. If you are with an organization that is affiliated with a collaborative working within the SNC Region to develop projects to advance forest and community health and resilience at a landscape scale and you are NOT represented in the RPP Explorer, please contact your Area Representative to discuss.

How does the RPP Explorer relate to the LGP?
The RPP Explorer contains information used by SNC to identify landscapes that may be ready for landscape-scale investment. The Investment Ready Landscapes Map is a snapshot derived from the RPP Explorer and is used to help guide LGP decision-making. This is described in more detail in the Readiness and Evaluation section of this document.