Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grants
Tribal Wildfire Resilience grants is part of CAL FIRE’s Climate and Energy Program and supports California Native American tribes in managing ancestral lands, implementing and promoting Traditional Environmental Knowledges in wildfire resilience, and establishing wildfire safety for tribal communities.
Tribal Wildfire Resilience grants fund planning and implementation projects that serve California Native American Tribes and advance wildfire resilience, forest health, and cultural use of fire. These projects address critical needs in tribal communities, and may include:
- Cultural and prescribed burns
- Creation and maintenance of shaded fuel breaks
- Forest and wildfire resilience projects such as dead and dying tree removal, understory thinning and/or removal, tree or other native and/or traditional vegetation plantings
- Forest health projects that provide benefits such as increasing biodiversity and improving access to and use of traditional foods and culturally significant species
- Workforce Development and training programs in fire, forestry, and related Traditional Ecological Knowledges
- Mapping projects
- Development of restoration plans, fire or forest management plans
- Biological and cultural surveys
- Environmental compliance and permitting
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Applications are currently closed.
Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grants has an upcoming grant solicitation: up to $5 million total available for tribes to plan and implement resilience projects. Draft grant guidelines are expected to be posted for public comment in December 2025. An online workshop for tribal input on the updates to the guidelines, process, and timelines is scheduled for January 7, 2025, from 1-3pm. Applications are expected by March 2025 with projects beginning in Fall 2025.
More information will be posted here as it becomes available.
Tribal Wildfire Resilience grant proposals must be between $250,000 and $5,000,000. Proposals can include planning, implementation, and workforce development/training.
Current Projects
- Press releases for 2024 TNBS: Governor, CNRA TNBS on their website
- Projects must serve California Native American tribes and their communities located within the State of California.
- Projects must establish and/or improve wildfire resilience and/or forest health on tribal ancestral lands or prepare tribes to develop and/or increase wildfire resilience and/or forest health through planning activities.
- Federally recognized Native American tribes
- Non-federally recognized California Native American tribes listed on the California Tribal Contact List maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission as described in Section 65352.4 of the Government Code.
CAL FIRE's Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grants Program in December 2022.
Roundtable Workshop Recording
- Workforce Development & Business Development Grants with CAL FIRE (currently closed - solicitation expected in early 2025): business and workforce development projects that support healthy resilient forests and the people and ecosystems that depend on them. Includes wood products infrastructure, biomass process and manufacturing technology, training, and research and development.
- Bridge Funding Opportunity Program from US Dept of Agriculture (currently closed): protects water quality with temporary bridge rental programs for portable skidder bridges, bridge mats, or other temporary water crossing structures to minimize stream bed disturbance on nonfederal and federal land.
- Tribal Access to Emerging Private Markets for Climate Mitigation and Forest Resilience from USDA Forest Service (currently closed): Grants may support activities such as development of forest management plans, reforestation, establishment of demonstration sites, and biodiversity protection. The core purpose of the funds is to support participation in emerging private markets forest resilience, climate mitigation, water quality, carbon sequestration and more.
- Tribal Nature Based Solutions from California Natural Resources Agency (Applications currently closed): grants for ancestral land return, land management planning, and land management implementation.
- Tribal Research Grant Program (Applications currently closed): grants for tribally led climate change research initiatives.
- Tribal Capacity Building Pilot Program with Strategic Growth Council (Applications currently closed): grants and technical assistance to build staff capacity and advance climate-related work, including planning, grant writing, and project management.
- Forest Health Grants with CAL FIRE (open through 1/15/2025): landscape scale (800+ acres) forest restoration and management projects including fuels reduction, reforestation, biomass utilization.
- Wildfire Prevention Grants with CAL FIRE (next round expected fall 2024): Funds for projects in and near fire threatened communities to improve public health and safety.
- California Grants Portal: Searchable website listing all State of CA grant and loan programs.
Intertribal Learning Exchange: Tribal-led Forest Stewardship and Workforce Development Projects
• September 11, 2024, 10:00 am: Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance (TERA), Local Workforce Development and TERA Training Programs funded through CAL FIRE’s Business and Workforce Development Grant
• October 16, 2024, 9:30 am: La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians' Natural Resources Department, Stewarding Native California Oak Woodlands
- California Natural Resources Agency programs in Tribal Affairs and Climate Resilience, and Tribal Nature-Based Solutions
- Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs
- Tribal Youth Nature-Based Solutions Conservation Corps
- California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force
We are grateful for your interest in Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grants. For information or any questions, please contact us at TribalWildfireResilienceGrants@fire.ca.gov.
Tribal Wildfire Resilience Grants are managed by CAL FIRE in partnership with the California Natural Resources Agency
Program Manager
Robin.Bellows@fire.ca.gov
(916) 224-5584
Grants Manager
Lindsay.Dallison@fire.ca.gov
Grant Manager
Jordan.Inzunza@fire.ca.gov
AGPA Grants Analyst
Kosta.Tsivikas@fire.ca.gov
(916) 201-2891
The 2023 Spring Solicitation has closed.
