SACRAMENTO
CAL Fire funding provides new opportunities for wood product innovation in California
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Wood Products and Bioenergy Team will offer $16 million in new grants this week. These projects will fund expansion in workforce and businesses involved in creating healthy, resilient forests across the State as outlined in California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan.
The 14 grant offers will go to an array of non-profits, small businesses and manufacturing facilities across
California.
Two grants will subsidize transporting low-value forest biomass. Dinuba Energy in Tulare County will restart operations at their bioenergy facility with new capacity to utilize sub-merchantable and cull logs from forest-fuel reduction activities. Lignum Support LLC will utilize subsidies to recover biomass from forest health and roadside hazard reduction projects that would otherwise be left in the woods.
Three workforce development grants will provide new job training opportunities and forestry outreach. Future Fire Academy in Placer County will train veterans and justice-involved persons for careers in forestry and firefighting. The CA Association of Resource Conservation Districts will fund 140 individuals from across the State to pursue over 300 forestry-related certificates that will prepare them for higher quality work. Lastly, the California Forestry Association will partner with communications experts to market forestry and provide equitable forestry education opportunities.
A total of four grants will be offered to small forest operations and milling businesses. Cascade Custom Cutting in Shasta County will receive assistance in purchasing additional in-woods equipment. Forestree
Collective in Sonoma County will expand their capacity to mill lumber as will Rath Industries and Tubit
Enterprises in Shasta County.
Since January 2022, the Wood Products and Bioenergy Team has awarded $67 million to business and
CAL FIRE’s Business and Workforce Development grant awards are funded with State of California General Funds. The solicitation remains open to new grant applications. Please visit CAL FIRE’s Wood Products and Bioenergy webpage for details.
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ST. HELENA
Thompson applauds announcement of over $600 Million in funding for climate resilience
This week, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) released the following statement after President Joe Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced over $600 million from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is being rolled out to communities throughout California and across the country for climate resilience projects.
“The climate crisis is one of the most pressing issues facing our world today and it demands our immediate attention,” said Thompson. “Last Congress, we made significant strides towards taking on the climate crisis through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Now, we are seeing the direct impact of these laws through investments in climate and grid resilience programs in California and across our country. The successes of last Congress are just a first step, and I am committed to continuing this progress so we can protect the planet for generations to come.
The funding announced by President Biden and Gov. Newsom is part of a first-ever Climate Resilience Regional Challenge to help coastal and Great Lakes communities, including Tribal communities in those regions, become more resilient to extreme weather and other impacts of the climate crisis. The funding will support innovative coastal resilience and adaptation solutions, such as building natural infrastructure, planning and preparing for community-led relocation, and protecting public access to coastal natural resources, that protect communities and ecosystems from sea level rise, tidal flooding hurricanes, storm surge, among other severe climate impacts. The Challenge is part of the $2.6 billion in resilience funding for NOAA included in the Inflation Reduction Act.
In addition, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing $2.3 billion in states, Territories, Tribes, and the District of Columbia over the next five years to bolster grid resilience across the country. As part of this investment, California is set to receive $67.4 million in the coming days, with the ability to apply for additional funding in the future, to modernize its electric grid to reduce impacts from extreme weather, natural disasters, and wildfires, and to ensure the reliability of the state’s power sector.
“The climate crisis is one of the most pressing issues facing our world today and it demands our immediate attention,” said Thompson. “Last Congress, we made significant strides towards taking on the climate crisis through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Now, we are seeing the direct impact of these laws through investments in climate and grid resilience programs in California and across our country. The successes of last Congress are just a first step, and I am committed to continuing this progress so we can protect the planet for generations to come.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing $2.3 billion in states, Territories, Tribes, and the District of Columbia over the next five years to bolster grid resilience across the country. As part of this investment, California is set to receive $67.4 million in the coming days, with the ability to apply for additional funding in the future, to modernize its electric grid to reduce impacts from extreme weather, natural disasters, and wildfires, and to ensure the reliability of the state’s power sector.
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