Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program (RFFCP) in the Sierra Nevada

« What We Do

The Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program (RFFCP) furthers the ability of forest communities to work together with public land managers to increase forest restoration and fire protection activities.

We are using funding from the RFFCP to expand our capacity building activities and develop project pipelines. Our ability to reduce wildfire risk across the vast Sierra Nevada region depends on a strong network of local partners to plan and implement work on the ground.

Watershed Improvement Program (WIP) Capacity-Building

Through the WIP, we are distributing RFFCP funding to local organizations to promote robust, collaborative forest health partnerships. RFFCP resources are increasing our ability to prioritize forest health and fire protection activities, plan projects, obtain funding, provide workforce training, and develop partnerships to implement projects.

This will allow us to get forest restoration work done on the ground faster.

RFFCP Activities in the Sierra Nevada

RFFCP resources are being used to support tribes, local organizations, and government agencies who are working together on a wide range of activities, which include:

Launching Fire Safe Councils
Developing collaborative project prioritization criteria and processes
Funding community wildfire protection plans
Supporting and training prescribed fire cooperatives
Training forest restoration professionals to help plan and manage projects
Completing CEQA and NEPA
Convening forest- and fire-related organizations and agencies to share information on projects and find ways to work together
Training organizations in financial management, change management, and grant writing
Testing new tools and utilizing new technologies to help plan and monitor restoration projects

Sustained state investments through the WIP, like the RFFCP, will allow our place-based partners to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration work across the Sierra Nevada.

A Regional Approach

The capacity needs across the Sierra Nevada Region vary greatly, as do the on-the-ground project needs. To address those differences, we created seven geographic areas.

The geographies are located in the eastern portion of California, stretching from the Oregon border to just south of Bakersfield. On the west, they are bordered by Redding, Sacramento, and Bakersfield. From north to south the seven geographies are: North East, North West, Sacramento-Feather, TCSI Plus, East, Eldorado South, and South.

Geographies are based on watershed boundaries and grouped by ecosystem similarities and existing collaboratives’ areas of work.

Sierra Nevada RFFCP Highlights

Building capacity for a resilient Sierra Nevada

What our partners have been able to accomplish with support from the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program (RFFCP) funding is remarkable.

Three workers with chainsaws rest on side of a mountain. A forested mountain canyon is in the background

Feather River Resource Conservation District's capacity for resilience

Amid the Dixie Fire, Feather River RCD proves that building capacity strengthens organizational resilience, disaster response, and project-pipeline integrity.

Forest health project pipelines can deliver regional resilience

There has been a lot of emphasis lately in forest management on building ‘Project Pipelines’. But what does this mean and why is it important?

Sierra Corps completes first year of work

Heading into its second year of operation, the Sierra Nevada Alliance's Forestry Fellowship Program is proving invaluable to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration.

Forest structure from above: using drones for restoration planning and monitoring

The Tuolumne River Trust used Sierra Nevada RFFCP resources to pilot the innovative use of drones as a cost-effective way to view and analyze forest structure.

CalVTP: Testing a new tool for forest health project planning

Feather River Resource Conservation District's experience using CAL FIRE's California Vegetation Treatment Program to meet CEQA requirements.

Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program (RFFCP): Investing in Sierra Nevada Partners

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy is using a $1.9 million grant from the RFFCP to expand our capacity building work in the Sierra Nevada Region.

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About the RFFCP

In 2019, the California Natural Resources Agency launched the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program to support forest health by increasing regional capacity to prioritize, develop, and implement landscape-level forest health and wildfire resiliency. The RFFCP was inspired by our Sierra Nevada Watershed Improvement Program (WIP) and seeks to duplicate the WIP’s approach across the state.

The RFFCP is a California Natural Resources Agency program administered by the Department of Conservation and is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment—particularly in disadvantaged communities.