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Northern California watershed with forests, meadows, and mountains

Northern California Forests and Watersheds

Northern California watershed

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, with our partners in California, is dedicated to helping restore and enhance forested landscapes and watersheds within Northern California, and across the state. Funding through the Northern California Forests and Watersheds program supports a variety of grant opportunities to increase headwaters resilience, improve forest health, and recover from wildfire, for the benefit of fish and wildlife throughout these environments.

Partners

In California, 11 of the state’s largest 20 wildfires have occurred within the last 10 years. The threat of unnatural wildfire has increased due to decades of fire suppression activities, recent droughts, insect infestations, and challenges from increased human activities on the forest.

Although the ecosystems of northern California have evolved to be well adapted to fire, the stressors associated with recent increases in frequency and intensity of fires have resulted in long-term losses in habitat, ecosystem transitions, opportunities for invasive species to take hold and spread, and changes in hydrology and associated effects to sediment, nutrient fate and transport.  

The Northern California Forests and Watersheds conservation priorities include but are not limited to:

  • ​Restoration of watersheds, landscapes, meadows, riparian, and other habitats
  • Aquatic organism and fish passage enhancements
  • Native species restoration and non-native species control
  • Fuels management
  • Recreational use management of trails, roads and campsites that may have a deleterious impact on natural resources

Application Information


California Forests: Targeted Headwater Resilience Implementation and Monitoring 2022 Request for Proposals - CLOSED View Now
California Forests: Large Watershed Planning Grants 2024 Request for Proposals View Now
2021 Grant Slate Download the PDF
Program Fact Sheet Download the PDF
Restoration Strategy Download the PDF
California Forests and Watershed Infrastructure Resilience 2020 Grant Slate Download the PDF
Northern California Forests and Watersheds 2020 Grant Slate Download the PDF
Northern California Forests and Watersheds 2019 Grant Slate Download the PDF
Northern California Forests and Watersheds 2018 Grant Slate Download the PDF
California Business Plan Download the PDF
Staff Representatives

Director, Western Regional Office

Program Director, Western Forests

Manager, Western Region Forests

Coordinator, Regional Programs