Climate Action and Resiliency

Summary of objective implementation status

Staff completed Phase 1 of the FEMA funded Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project in October 2024, and submitted materials for Phase 2 implementation which proposes a $5 million project to reduce hazardous fuels on 293 acres in select strategic locations. The Wildfire Adapted Part 1 and Part 2 projects are in the process of completing Phase 1 by early 2025, which will include proposals for $6.5 million in Phase 2 implementation funds across both projects to conduct defensible space and home hardening activities on parcels that apply to the program.  The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) project, also known as Wildfire Resilient Sonoma County, is implementing Phase 1 and this will continue into 2025.  For the projects that recently completed Phase 1, they are awaiting funding approval for Phase 2 to implement the projects and begin community and landowner outreach.

The County distributed $1 million to nine projects through the Vegetation Management Grant program managed by Ag + Open Space. These projects range from four shaded fuel breaks along prominent ridgelines or evacuation routes such as Brain Ridge north of Cazadero, Camp Meeker, along St. Helena Road and Chalk Hill Road. A prescribed grazing program managed jointly by Gold Ridge and Sonoma RCDs will be matched by a $400,000 Coastal Conservancy grant. Two projects will lead to provide environmental compliance for over 48,500 acres for future fuel treatments. And finally, Fire Safe Sonoma will provide educational webinars via the Resilient Landscape Coalition focused on defensible space and landscape fuel treatments. While not a requirement, a total of $1,041,654 was offered by the grantees as match to the funds they received under the Vegetation Management Grant program.

Finally, the County was awarded a $1.84 million grant from the CALFIRE Wildfire Prevention grant program for the Northside Russian River Shaded Fuel Break project – a 13-mile shaded fuel break across three ridgelines above the towns of Guernewood, Guerneville, Rio Nido and Hacienda. Project implementation will begin fall of 2024 and be completed by Spring of 2026. It culminates 3 years of planning and coordinating with local landowners, CALFIRE, local community organizations and Ag + Open Space.

Key milestone update

• FEMA Grants obtained (approximate total award amount for all grants = $67 million)
  • Wildfire Adapted Sonoma County, Part 1 (Phase 1 closing early 2025)
  • Wildfire Adapted Sonoma County, Part 2 (Phase 1 closing early 2025)
  • Sonoma County Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project (Phase 1 completed October 2024)
  • Wildfire Resilient Sonoma County (BRIC) (Phase 1 is in implementation)
  • Multijurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (completed August 2022)
  • Update to the Sonoma County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (completed July 2023)
• Vegetation Management Grant Program invested $1 million in 9 grants to communities, organizations, fire districts, tribes, homeowners associations and resource conservation districts. Grantees matched grant funding with $1,041,654 of additional funding such as CALFIRE, State Coastal Conservancy, and in-kind services.
• Ag + Open Space together with Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District leveraged the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grant for $353,000 in 2023. In 2024, NFWF offered an additional $30,000 to support capacity building workshops in 2024 – 2025.
• CALFIRE Wildfire Prevention grant for $1,840,856.00 for the Northside Russian River Shaded Fuel Break project.

Coordination and partnership update

The Vegetation Management Technical Advisory Committee has coordinated with state agencies (CALFIRE, State Parks), county departments and special districts (Ag + Open Space, Permit Sonoma, Regional Parks, Sonoma Water, Climate Action and Resilience), non-govt. organizations (Sonoma Land Trust, Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, Sonoma Ecology Center, Fire Safe Sonoma) and Gold Ridge and Sonoma Resource Conservation Districts, UC Cooperative Extension, Tribes.

Community, equity and climate update

While the focus of the CALFIRE and National Fish and Wildfire Foundation efforts has been the Russian River watershed and its principal tributaries due to the grant funds received, the next phase is to focus on the Mayacama range and the eastern portion of the County. There are initial discussions to work with cities to enhance prescribed grazing activities for fuel treatments within city limits.

The FEMA-funded grants have project locations throughout the County. Using these funds to advance equity outcomes for underserved communities in the project areas is a priority for the staff implementing these projects. The projects are aiming to achieve this through program design that lowers barriers to participation, producing bilingual program materials, and reviewing contracting processes for Phase 2 activities that will incentivize vegetation management and construction entities to pay family-sustaining wages and hire individuals from workforce-development training programs.

Objective funding

• $30,000 – National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• $1,840,800 – CALFIRE Wildfire Prevention Grant (Guerneville area)
• $1,041,654 – Match from grantees for Vegetation Management Grants