California

American Forests
Restoring Conifer Plantations in the Powerhouse Fire Scar (CA)
Aid restoration of conifer forests impacted by the Powerhouse Fire within the Angeles National Forest. Project will conduct surveys of local seedbanks, collect seeds from critical species such as big cone Douglas fir and gray pine and fill seedbank gaps for the Southern California seed zone by developing a reforestation infrastructure strategy using climate-smart principles and new forestation tools.
$101,760

American Songbird Management and Recovery
Least Bell’s Vireo Range Expansion Surveys in the Mohave Desert and Central Valley (CA)
Survey for the least Bell’s vireo in Bureau of Land Management (BLM) riparian habitat in the Central Valley and the Mohave Desert in order to assess whether they may have recently re-expanded their range north into historical breeding ranges on BLM lands in the Central Valley and to determine the range and occupancy of them on BLM lands in the Mohave. Project will enable the BLM and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to complete a more accurate assessment of the size and distribution of the vireo’s range-wide population.
$77,000

California Deer Association
Restoring Mule Deer Habitat  in the Slink Fire Scar (CA, NV)
Restore migratory corridor and winter and spring range habitat for California-Nevada interstate mule deer impacted by the Slink Fire in Mono County and Alpine County, California. Project will plant mule deer forage, install wildlife-friendly fencing, perform erosion control and restoration, deter invasive weed conversion, acquire a conservation easement in a migratory corridor, and analyze data on mule deer migration and plant seeding restoration preference.
$262,178

California Deer Association
Fuels Management Treatments in Van Bremmer and Round Valley within the Klamath National Forest (CA)
Implement fuels management practices and improve wildfire resilience in the Van Bremmer and Round Valley areas within the Goosenest Ranger District of the Klamath National Forest. Project will reduce 396 acres of high fuel loads by treating canopy understory, removing invasive juniper and conifer, and reducing ladder fuels to reduce the risk of severe wildfire within the forest and neighboring communities.
$165,995

California Rangeland Trust
Silacci Ranch Conservation Easement (CA)
Place a conservation easement on 9,418 acres of rangeland in the Gabilan Mountain Range to eliminate the potential for subdivision, development and cropland intensification. Project will provide important linkages for numerous special-status plant and animal species, maintain water quality in the watershed, support agricultural productivity, and continue tule elk distribution and public hunting opportunities.
$376,000

California State Coastal Conservancy
Enhancing the Tidal Wetland Complex and Creating Habitat for Salmonids in the Elk River Estuary (CA)
Restore a 114 acre tidal wetland complex within Humboldt Bay to be self-sustaining over the long term in the face of projected sea level rise. Project will provide critical habitat for threatened salmonids and other listed species, act as a living shoreline to protect Highway 101 and an electrical power line from sea-level rise and tidal flooding, and expand passive recreational opportunities and coastal access for the public.
$979,000

California Trout
Assessing Fuels Reduction Impact on Biomass Removal, Water and Greenhouse Gases (CA)
Conduct feasibility studies to inform short-term and long-term planning for biomass removal and processing critical to large scale fuels management. Project will include model-based estimates of hydrologic and greenhouse gas benefits derived from fuels reduction efforts using June Mountain and Mammoth Lakes Basin projects on the Inyo National Forest as pilots and extrapolating the results of these projects to the broader Owens watershed.
$206,000

City of Oceanside
Finalizing Design of a Loma Alta Slough Wetlands Enhancement Plan (CA)
Prepare a construction-ready coastal wetland restoration project in Southern California building off completed preliminary designs, stakeholder outreach and permitting communications. Project will restore the hydrologic function of Loma Alta Slough, protecting surrounding critical coastal infrastructure from sea-level rise and increased storm intensity, and will enhance species habitat while promoting education and conservation value to the community.
$175,000

Conservation Corps of Long Beach
Addressing Invasive Vegetation and Off-Highway Vehicle Barriers in the Angeles National Forest (CA)
Remove invasive vegetation and litter and install off-highway vehicle barriers within the Copper and Powerhouse fire scars in the Angeles National Forest. Project will work alongside conservation corps groups to manage invasive plants across 30 acres, restore 5 acres through native plantings, remove 400 pounds of trash from the project area and construct or replace 170 off-highway vehicle barriers to restore critical habitats and improve land degradation.
$367,774

Conservation Science Partners
Mojave Desert Tortoise Monitoring Plan (CA)
Develop a monitoring plan that will be used to track progress towards objectives integral to implementing the Recovery and Sustainment Partnership initiative to recover the Mojave desert tortoise. Project will conduct a requisite review of existing data sources, describe methods to generate new data for species objective monitoring and suggest guidance for data management.
$34,928

County of Santa Clara
Building a County Collaborative and Capacity through Development of a Resilience Strategy (CA)
Build capacity and identify local vulnerabilities and priorities through convening practitioners and leaders of 20-30 local government agencies and civil society stakeholders in Silicon Valley to ultimately incorporate policy and project solutions in the Santa Clara County Resiliency Strategy. Project will increase knowledge and develop a pipeline of prioritized policy and projects to implement and increase community, economic, riparian and bay ecological resiliency.
$150,000

Earth Team
Restoring San Leandro and San Lorenzo Watersheds and Associated Shorelines (CA)
Restore up to 100 acres of watershed and shoreline habitats in two major watersheds in the San Francisco East Bay: San Leandro and San Lorenzo and their connected shorelines, Martin Luther King Shoreline and Hayward Regional Shoreline. Project will: 1) engage students to monitor water quality; 2) map, classify and remove land-based litter from creekside locations; 3) restore riparian habitats; and 4) engage 2,000 peer and community members to reduce litter, pet waste and garden pesticides pollution.
$35,708

Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District
Restoring Streamflow for Coho and Steelhead by Increasing Landscape-Scale Resiliency (CA)
Provide technical assistance and engineering to landowners along salmonid-bearing streams to measurably improve instream flows, promote groundwater recharge and enhance instream habitat, with special emphasis on watersheds devastated by recent catastrophic wildfires. Project will complete a minimum of 12 comprehensive water conservation plans or engineered designs for streamflow enhancement and connect willing landowners with Natural Resources Conservation Service programs.
$150,000

Humboldt State University Sponsored Programs Foundation
Quantification of the Variability of C. shasta DNA Concentrations in Klamath River Water Samples (CA)
Examine the effect of water depth and distance from shore on estimates of C. shasta, a parasite that negatively impacts Chinook and coho salmon populations in the Klamath River. Project will identify reaches in the Klamath River that are hot spots for C. shasta production by comparing C. shasta DNA levels just upstream and downstream of the suspected hot spot.
$129,973

Island Conservation
Completing Initial Planning for Mouse Removal on Farallon Island (CA)
Create a framework and develop supplemental documents to support environmental compliance and permitting requirements for rodent removal on Southeast Farallon Island, home to the largest breeding colony of ashy storm-petrels. Project will provide preliminary plans necessary to complete environmental compliance requirements and support a well-implemented rodent eradication plan that will improve the ashy storm-petrel population.
$36,119

Karuk Tribe
Fuels Management and Somes Bar Community Protection on Six Rivers National Forest – II (CA) 
Complete manual fuels reduction treatments along strategic fuel breaks in the Ti Bar and Donahue areas of the Six Rivers National Forest. Project will treat 250 acres to reduce the severity of future fires, increase fire safety around the local Somes Bar community and prepare for future large scale prescribed fire implementation.
$277,579

LifeScape International
Baseline Data Collection on Fire-Mammal Relationships in Los Padres National Forest Fire Scars (CA)
Provide baseline information on local wildlife populations by examining the impact of recurring fire intensity, expanse and post-fire recovery intervals on mammal communities in the Los Padres National Forest. Project will deploy camera traps across differential landscape gradients of fire impact to develop an occupancy model and understand fire impact on the ecology and certain wildlife of the region.
$198,800

Los Padres Forest Association
Signage and Off-Highway Vehicle Barriers within the Jesusita Fire Scar (CA)
Develop and install educational signage and improve barriers blocking access to user-created off-highway vehicle trails located around the Jesusita Fire scar. Project will obtain the necessary environmental compliance to install 26 barriers and create and install signage at six locations.
$251,411

Los Padres Forest Association
Design, Decommissioning and Construction of the Santa Barbara Canyon Trail (CA)
Realign a mile section of eroded trail along the Santa Barbara Canyon Trail within the Mount Pinos Ranger District in the Los Padres National Forest. Project will decommission 3.5 acres and build and realign 1 mile of trail to create a sustainable trail and reduce erosion and sedimentation resulting from the existing trail alignment.
$86,737

Los Padres Forest Association
Design and Restoration of the Pothole Trail within the Ojai Ranger District (CA)
Realign the southern 1.8 miles of the Pothole Trail within the Ojai Ranger District in the Los Padres 
National Forest. Project will design a new trail layout and complete necessary environmental approvals to build a sustainable section of the trail.
$114,888

Midwater Trawlers Cooperative
Setting Course for Success: Improving Catch Handling and Electronic Monitoring Data Use (CA, OR, WA)
Improve electronic monitoring catch handling requirements to be more operationally efficient while still supporting catch accountability, and expand data use for science in the West Coast groundfish fishery. Project will result in electronic monitoring data being used to benefit stock assessment and management and retain existing electronic monitoring users while addressing the concerns of prospective users.
$256,000

National Forest Foundation
Gold Spotted Oak Borer Response and Oak Recovery in Green Valley Area, Angeles National Forest (CA)
Identify and remove gold spotted oak borer, a high priority pest, from the Green Valley area within the Angeles National Forest. Project will treat 175 acres to stop and slow the spread of gold spotted oak borer and improve forest health.
$290,267

National Wildlife Refuge Association
Los Angeles Pocket Wildlife Refuges (CA)
Develop and implement five small native habitat areas, known as pocket wildlife refuges, within existing parks and recreational areas in the Los Angeles River and Ballona Creek watersheds. Project will connect communities back to national wildlife refuges and create engaging biodiversity hot spots, as well as restore habitat for native flora and fauna.
$50,000

NatureServe
Research Support for Management of Pollinator Species (multiple states)
Conduct research to identify priority areas for on-the-ground monarch management actions such as habitat restoration and enrichment as well as to inform regulatory review. Project will map these areas and highlight those that are most used by monarchs, recognizing that monarchs tend to migrate along riparian and wetland corridors.
$199,878

Nevada Department of Wildlife
Improving Habitat for Mule Deer and Pronghorn by Treating Invasives and Removing Fences (CA, NV)
Treat invasive grasses and remove invasive conifers and fences to improve connectivity and address an immediate barrier to migration for wintering-resident deer, resulting in reduced metabolic demands on mule deer and pronghorn, ultimately decreasing mortality. Project will restore 3,000 acres of habitat and remove or improve 40 miles of fences.
$75,000

Outdoor Outreach
YES San Diego: Youth Environmental Stewardship (CA)
Create access points to the San Diego Bay and Tijuana River Watersheds for youth from low-income communities and communities of color, engaging youth in hands-on, outdoor conservation programs with impacts both for wetland and coastal habitat restoration and for youth awareness and ownership of those natural resources. Project will engage 140 individuals in environmental education and restoration programs resulting in the restoration of 120 acres of sensitive wetland and coastal habitats.
$29,420

Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Point Blue Conservation Science
Initiating the First Coordinated Range-Wide Survey of Ashy Storm-Petrel Breeding Habitat (CA)
Initiate a five-year monitoring cycle for ashy storm-petrel breeding sites along the coast of California and develop a framework for compiling, managing and sharing data. Project will survey 18 locations to provide a data set that will inform the monitoring plan and data management and sharing framework, which will support management activities through the ashy storm-petrel breeding range.
$224,999

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
Restoring Plant Diversity in Fire-Affected Watersheds on the Angeles National Forest – III (CA) 
Improve capacity for wildfire restoration in the Copper and Sayre fire scars within the Angeles National Forest. Project will collect 50 high-priority seed collections, seed bulk high priority grasses, propagate over 5,000 chaparral plant species, monitor and maintain existing restoration sites, and develop a comprehensive report for chaparral restoration.
$273,089

Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
Installing Cultural and Educational Signage within the Zaca Fire Scar (CA)
Develop and install educational signage in recreational areas of the Los Padres National Forest that were affected by the Zaca Fire. Project will develop and install signage at nine sites to educate visitors on the Native American Chumash history of the forest, traditional use of land and resources, and the importance of wildlife, including Southern California Steelhead.
$101,696

Shasta Valley Resource Conservation District
Enhancing Elk Flat Late-Successional Reserve on Shasta-Trinity National Forest (CA)
Enhance and ensure long-term sustainability of late-successional habitat in the Elk Flat Late-Successional Reserve on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Project will complete fuels reduction treatments across 254 acres to improve forest health and habitat for species such as the Northern spotted owl and Pacific fisher, as well as restore 676 acres of meadow habitat to enhance early seral species habitat.
$256,731

Southern Sierra Research Station
Lake Isabella Willow Flycatcher Restoration Grant (CA)
Conduct southwestern willow flycatcher and least Bell’s vireo surveys, as well as brown-headed cowbird point count surveys and control in the USDA Forest Service’s South Fork Wildlife Area. Project will also evaluate habitat suitability for the flycatcher and vireo as well as conduct nest monitoring for any flycatcher or vireo nests found.
$54,555

The Mule Deer Foundation
Fuels Management within the Prather-Medusa Project Area on the Stanislaus National Forest (CA)
Complete fuels reduction treatments within the Prather-Medusa project area on the Stanislaus National Forest to improve forest health and wildlife habitat for critical species including the California spotted owl. Project will treat and reduce fuels across 185 acres to increase stand resilience, reduce future fire intensity and severity and improve important wildlife habitat.
$346,815

The Student Conservation Association
Fuels Reduction in Bishop Creek and Pine Creek on the Inyo National Forest (CA)
Conduct fuels management within the Bishop Creek and Pine Creek watersheds within the Inyo National Forest. Project will support a five-person crew to implement fuels reduction treatments across 75 acres in order to improve forest health and recreational areas.
$42,025

The Student Conservation Association
OHV Barrier Installation and Resource Restoration in Drinkwater Flat, Angeles National Forest (CA)
Install barriers within the Drinkwater Flat Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) area within the Angeles National Forest. Project will support a five-person crew to build and install 100 no-dig barriers to improve management of OHV use and protect and support landscape restoration across 500 acres.
$72,407

The Student Conservation Association
Trail Development and Interpretive Signage for the St. Francis Dam Monument and Memorial (CA)
Construct a portion of new trail and install interpretive signage at the Saint Francis Dam Monument and Memorial on the Angeles National Forest. Project will design a new quarter-mile long trail, design up to eight interpretive signs and field a crew to construct the new trail at the Saint Francis Dam.
$283,309

The Trust for Public Land
Building an Urban Orchard Community Park in the City of South Gate (CA)
Create a 7-acre park for recreation and community engagement within a post-industrial lot located along the Los Angeles River in Southeastern Los Angeles. Project will implement a design developed through community engagement to include a large constructed wetland to extract and clean runoff, an education garden, fruit orchard, nature-based playground, community buildings and artwork, as well as other amenities.
$50,000

The Urban Association of Forestry and Fire Professionals
Fuel Break and Cistern Management within the Copper Fire Scar (CA)
Manage fuel break vegetation and provide GIS mapping and assessment services for cisterns along priority fuel breaks and areas within the Copper Fire burn scar. Project will support two crews to improve 300 acres of fuel breaks and assess 20 cisterns within the project area.
$304,000

TreePeople
Forest Aid within the Copper Fire Scar of the Angeles National Forest – III (CA) 
Complete on-the-ground restoration activities in woodland, riparian and chaparral areas of the San Francisquito Canyon in the Angeles National Forest. Project will maintain 20 acres of existing restoration sites, restore 10 additional acres and propagate 1,500 native plants to establish healthy native vegetation.
$894,269

TreePeople
Restoring the Shake Plantation within the Sierra Pelona Mountains (CA)
Restore the Shake plantation, a conifer plantation in direct vicinity of the Powerhouse and Lake Fire scars within the Angeles National Forest. Project will remove invasive non-native vegetation, propagate and maintain 11,000 seedlings across 26 acres and engage 750 volunteers to assist with restoration activities.
$198,443

TreePeople
Bigcone Douglas-fir Regeneration in the Powerhouse Fire Scar (CA)
Conduct a wide-ranging study of the different methods and approaches to improve outcomes and success in the establishment and regeneration of Bigcone Douglas-fir in areas of the Sierra Pelona Mountains impacted by fires. Project will complete surveys, collect and propagate seedlings and ensure maintenance and monitoring of seedlings for conifer regeneration.
$222,092

Truckee River Watershed Council
Sardine Meadow Restoration Project (CA)
Restore riparian and watershed resources in the Truckee River Watershed. Project will restore 350 acres of Sierra Nevada meadow and 5 miles of historic stream channel and improve habitat for willow flycatcher and Lahontan cutthroat trout.
$249,259

U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Line Distance Sampling for Mojave Desert Tortoises in Ord-Rodman Critical Habitat Unit (CA)
Complete line distance sampling and related activities for seasonal collection of data to describe population trends in Mojave desert tortoises in the Ord-Rodman critical habitat unit in southeastern California. Project will contribute to wider efforts coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Desert Tortoise Recovery Office to monitor study areas across the range of Mojave desert tortoises.
$70,000

University of California - Santa Cruz
Improving a Meta-Population Viability Analysis Tool for Threatened and Endangered Seabirds (multiple states)
Improve a meta-population viability analysis (mPVA) tool to help prevent seabird extinctions. Project will incorporate sea-level rise and financial return on investment data to enhance the existing seabird mPVA conservation planning and decision support tool.
$125,000

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
Education and Outreach for Goldspotted Oak Borer in the Angeles National Forest (CA)
Develop and implement education, outreach and public information campaigns relevant to forest wildlife recovery and management of post-fire invasive pests in the Angeles National Forest. Project will increase public awareness of major forest pests, including goldspotted oak borer and inform the community on management and prevention of future infestation to ultimately enhance forest health and wildfire resilience by countering the spread and impact of invasive forest pests.
$196,011

University of Wisconsin - Madison
Assessing Fuels Reduction Impact on California Spotted Owls in the Sierra Nevada (CA)
Assess data to characterize the effects of fuels treatments on California spotted owls in the Sierra Nevada. Project will provide support for continued demographic monitoring efforts and will assess the effects of fuels reduction treatments on California spotted owls using GPS tagging data and demographic studies, which will help inform future management efforts.
$255,513

Watershed Research and Training Center
Prescribed Fire Treatment in the Weaverville Community Forest (CA)
Implement fuels reduction, utilizing prescribed fire treatments in the Weaverville Community Forest, on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Project will collaboratively implement fuels reduction targeting 157 acres to reduce the risk of future wildfires to surrounding communities, protect natural resources and forest health and improve wildlife habitat for species including the Northern spotted owl.
$99,775

Wildcoast
Developing Logistics for Fishing Net Collection and Recycling in California
Set up collection efforts to aggregate fishing net waste across California. Project will establish derelict fishing gear collection at five ports, recycling 60 tons of unused fishing nets.
$146,218

Yurok Tribe
Habitat Restoration and Heliwood Loading in the South Fork Trinity River (CA)
Improve the habitat quality and ecological conditions for wild spring-run Chinook salmon and steelhead in a 9-mile reach of the South Fork Trinity River. Project will place approximately 300 whole trees as large wood to enhance habitat complexity by restoring and enhancing geomorphic processes and water quality.
$78,061