California gets $600 million in relief for fire devastation
The USDA separately announced that the Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service will spend an additional $48 million on projects to reduce wildfire risk, protect water quality, improve wildlife habitat and restore forest ecosystems. In another announcement, the Forest Service said it will undertake tree-thin- ning measures to reduce wildfire risk amid some 11 , 000 acres of dense strands of Douglas fir trees and oaks in Del Norte County. Other wildfire miti- gation efforts will target 25,000 acres of public land and 1,000 acres of private land in Siskiyou County.
Jennifer Eberlien, a forester for the Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest re- gion, said the projects are being under- taken thanks to the allocation of $1.5 million in landscape restoration funds announced for California and Hawaii on Jan. 26. She said the program will “get more prescribed burning and other fuels treat- ments on the ground to help prevent fu- ture wildfires.” The Forest Service and NRCS this year will invest in 41 projects, includ- ing $15.3 million for 17 new initiatives to improve forest health in California and 10 other states.
California is receiving nearly $600 million in disaster recovery funds for devastating wildfire years in 2021 and 2020, Vice President Kamala Harris and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack an- nounced in a recent visit to the state. In t o t a l , $1 . 36 b i l l i on i n f unds wi l l be provided to the U.S. Forest Service to support disaster restoration projects nationally. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture news release, the Forest Service will use the funds for hazardous material cleanup, reforestation, water- shed restoration and infrastructure re- pair—including for trails, roads, bridg- es and facilities. The funding will target California communities hard hit bywild- fires, as well communities in other states impacted by hurricanes. “I am pleased to join the vice presi- dent in announcing over a billion dollars in funding that will bolster the Forest Service’s efforts to help our communities Conservation funding available through USDA The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced up to $225 mi l l ion in avai lable funding for conserva- t ion par tners through i ts Regional Conservation Partnership Program, which supports efforts to address nat- ural resource challenges on agricul- tural lands. “RCPP is public-private partnership at its best,” State Conservationist Carlos Suarez wi th the Natural Resources Conservation Service said in a state- ment. “We’re harnessing the power of partnership to create lasting solu- tions to global challenges like climate change, and support producers and communities who have been under- served in the past.” The regional conservation program funds projects that address climate change, benefit historically underserved farming areas and support urbanagricul- ture. The RCPP program works directly with agricultural producers. The USDA is accepting project pro- posals for the RCPP initiative through April 13. Funding is open to agriculture and silviculture associations, nongovern- ment organizations, tribes, state and local governments, conservation dis- tricts and universities, among others. Par tners are expected to of fer val- ue-added contributions to amplify the impact of RCPP funding in equal or greater amounts. Private landowners can apply to par- ticipate in anRCPPproject in their region throughawardedpartners or at their local USDA service center.
recover from the devastating impacts of wildfiresand threat tocommunities, prop- erty and lives, as well as natural treasures likeour forests,”Vilsack said ina statement after he joined Harris in visiting the San BernardinoNational Forest on Jan. 21 “States are experiencing more fre- quent and intense wildfires that pose a serious threat to communities, proper- ty and lives, as well as natural treasures like our forests,” Vilsack said.
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February 2, 2022 Ag Alert 13
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