Forest Legacy Program

Forest Legacy Program Capacity and Project Development 2026 is sponsored by Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. CAL FIRE’s Forest Legacy Program funds landscape-scale conservation projects intended to conserve working forests and working forested landscapes. This solicitation aims to increase organizational capacity for eligible applicants and support the development of high-quality forest conservation projects. Funding for this solicitation is limited to the preparation and development of potential future projects. Eligible Activities: Future Projects - Funding for Forest Legacy Grant Due Diligence: Grant funds can be requested to prepare and develop future working forest conservation easement or fee acquisition projects for completion under a Federal OR State Grant. These will be referred to as “Future Projects” throughout the grant guide. The actual transactions for these Future Projects will need to be prepared and submitted for Federal or State Forest Legacy Funding at a future date, for either Forest Legacy solicitations, or solicitations to other federal or state conservation programs. Projects receiving funding under this grant line item are not guaranteed Federal or State Forest Legacy funding for projects in the future. Future Projects can include costs for preparing the following: Market analysis or restricted use appraisal for Future Projects in development; Preliminary title report and any associated documents listed in that report (deed, easements, MOUs), as well as the costs to remove exceptions; Minerals Remoteness Report or statement; Land survey with acreage and Description verification; Mapping products / GIS; Development and negotiation of Conservation Easement (CE) Deed (if not acquiring in fee); CE Baseline Document (if not acquiring in fee); Phase 1 Environmental Assessment; Forest Management Plan, Agricultural Management Plan and/or Grazing Management Plan; Soliciting and developing potential FLP projects; Organizational staff time associated with preparation of the above mentioned documents or general work towards completion of the project; Salaries, fringe benefits, travel and supplies that directly support the FLP; Facilitating the donation of lands or interests of lands into the FLP. Eligible Applicants: These can include, but are not limited to; nonprofits, land trusts, and conservation organizations. This program will not grant funding to a private person, business or other private entity to hold ownership of these interests (fee title or CE) using State funds. Any applicant not eligible to hold a Land Conservation Easement shall specify the intended Land Conservation Easement organization within the application. Eligible Lands are: Land that can support 10-percent native tree cover of any species, including hardwoods, under natural conditions, and has a minimum of 75 percent forestland or a documented plan that includes sufficient landowner capacity to reforest to at least 75 percent forestland. The land should allow for management of one or more forest resources, including timber, grazing, aesthetics, fish and wildlife, biodiversity, water quality, recreation, and other public benefits. Eligible Costs: The following costs are eligible for reimbursement: Future Projects – Due Diligence for Future Forest Legacy Project (a) The development and due diligence costs for future conservation easement or fee acquisition projects as stated above under Future Projects.

Proposition 1 Regionwide Grants is sponsored by San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy. Priorities for RMC Prop 1 Grants: 1. Ecosystems and watershed protection and restoration projects 2. Expand access to diverse populations 3. High-need project implementation Proposition 1 allocation to the RMC is pursuant to Chapter 6 Protecting Rivers, Lakes, Streams, Coastal Waters and Watersheds and sets forth thirteen specific purposes and all grant funds must achieve at least four or more of the following objectives in order to receive funds: 1. Protect and increase the economic benefits arising from healthy watersheds, fishery resources and instream flow. 2. Implement watershed adaptation projects in order to reduce the impacts of climate change on communities and ecosystems. 3. Restore river parkways throughout the state, including but not limited to projects pursuant to the California River Parkways Act of 2004, in the Urban Streams Restoration Program established pursuant to Section 7048 and urban river greenways. 4. Protect and restore aquatic, wetland and migratory bird ecosystems including fish and wildlife corridors and the acquisition of water rights for instream flow. 5. Fulfill the obligations of the State of California in complying with the terms of multiparty settlement agreements related to water resources. 6. Remove barriers to fish passage. 7. Implement fuel treatment projects to reduce wildfire risks, protect watersheds tributary to water storage facilities and promote watershed health. 8. Protect and restore rural and urban watershed health to improve watershed storage capacity, forest health, protection of life and property, stormwater resource management, and greenhouse gas reduction. 9. Protect and restore coastal watershed including but not limited to, bays, marine estuaries, and nearshore ecosystems. 10. Reduce pollution or contamination of rivers, lakes, streams, or coastal waters, prevent and remediate mercury contamination from legacy mines, and protect or restore natural system functions that contribute to water supply, water quality, or flood management. 11. Assist in the recovery of endangered, threatened, or migratory species by improving watershed health, instream flows, fish passage, coastal or inland wetland restoration, or other means, such as natural community conservation plan and habitat conservation plan implementation. 12. Protect and enhance an urban creek as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 7048 and its tributaries pursuant to Division 22.8 (commencing with Section 32600) of, and Division 23 (commencing with Section 33000) of, the Public Resources Code and Section 79508. 13. Assist in water-related agricultural sustainability projects that promote water conservation. Applications: Applications will be submitted in two phases: a Concept Proposal and a Full Application. Applicants will first submit a Concept Proposal that will be reviewed by RMC staff for consistency with RMC goals, any specific program priorities, and the strength of the proposed project. In addition, RMC staff will look at all Concept Proposals for location, need, project type, readiness, threats, cost, and cost share. RMC staff will offer applicants feedback regarding alignment with priorities, overall merit, and any ineligible costs. RMC staff will select Concept Proposals to move forward and will invite selected applicants to submit Full Applications.