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CAL FIRE Forest Health Research Program (FY 2022-23)

Department of Forestry and Fire Protection · 26894

Eligibility details

CAL FIRE will grant funds from the Research Program to public and other nonprofit universities and affiliated academic institutions, local agencies (e.g. counties and special districts), state agencies, federal agencies, Native American tribes; private forest landowners; and non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations (e.g. fire safe councils, and land trusts).

Matching funds & resources

Source matching-funds field: Not Required.

Matching funds and leveraged resources are different requirements. Read the description and reviewed rules below before determining resource commitments.

About this opportunity

The application will consist of a concept proposal followed by review and selection. Selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal followed by a second review and selection period. Concept proposals are due by 3 p.m. (PDT), April 27, 2023. Full invited proposals are due by 3 p.m. (PDT), July 13, 2023. The Forest Health Research Program (hereafter “Research Program”) was established as part of CAL FIRE’s plan for implementing the California Forest Carbon Plan. It is one of several CAL FIRE programs funded through the California Climate Investments (CCI) program, Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The mission of the Research Program is: 1)To identify and prioritize research topics in forest health and fire science critical to the State of California 2)To fund sound scientific studies that support forest landowners, resource agencies, and fire management organizations within the state. 3)To ensure scientific information generated from the program is made available to support decision making and policy 4)To further the goals of the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, California Forest Carbon Plan, the California Natural and Working Lands Implementation Plan, CCI, and AB 32 Global Warming Solutions Act. The program, procedures and requirements apply only to “stand-alone research” projects, where research-related activities are the only activities proposed. Research activities are no longer eligible as a component of larger management-oriented Forest Health projects. The following topics have been identified as priorities for study for the Research Program for FY 2022-23. Topics are numbered for reference, but not ranked in terms of priority. Research proposed under this solicitation must address one or more of these priority topics. Research projects should be focused on and relevant to California ecosystems and their management. 1)Disturbance, recovery, and strategies for various types of landowners to increase forest resilience in an altered future climate. 2)Implementation, effectiveness, impacts, and tradeoffs of current and alternative management strategies to reduce unwanted wildfire impacts, increase carbon storage, sustain and promote biodiversity, improve water and air quality, and provide regional economic benefits. 3)Contemporary range of variation and trends in fire regimes, forest conditions and distributions in California ecosystems (particularly those less well studied) in relation to historical or pre-European settlement conditions or processes. 4)Forest products and utilization of forest residues related to fuel reduction and forest health treatments. 5)Human dimensions, socio-economic considerations, and environmental justice issues related to forest health and wildfire management. 6)Improved prediction of wildland fire spread, behavior, severity, patch size, and potential impacts, particularly under extreme weather conditions and/or within the wildland-urban interface. In addition, the following special topics have been identified as priorities for the Research Program for FY 2022-23: 7)Leveraging U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data to inform future forest management.

Funding geography: Projects must be focused on and relevant to California forests and other ecosystems and their management. A significant portion of the geographic area proposed for study must be contained within California and may include adjacent lands contiguous and representative of California sites. Any sites external to California and discontinuous to study areas within the state require justification. Study areas may not be located outside the United States

Funding instrument: Grant. Issuing jurisdiction: California. This is not a geographic eligibility determination.