Cal Fire grants for wildfire prevention

Conservation Works, in partnership with the five Resource Conservation Districts of Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, and Napa counties and Clear Lake Environmental Center, is offering the North Bay Forest Improvement Program to

forest landowners across the four-county North Bay region. 

MENDOCINO CO., 4/8/25 –  Conservation Works, a North Bay environmental conservation nonprofit, was awarded two Cal Fire grants totaling $5.9 million for wildfire prevention projects, the nonprofit said Tuesday.  

Funded through Cal Fire’s Wildfire Resilience Program, the grants will be used by the nonprofit’s North Bay Forest Improvement Program to plan and implement wildfire risk reduction and forest health projects on private property in Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma and Napa counties. 

According to Conservation Works, most forest lands in the counties it serves are privately owned, making it critical that the organization works directly with landowners to reduce wildfire risks and improve forest health.  

The program will provide financial investments to landowners to reduce wildfire risk, while guiding them through the land stewardship process. Conservation Works hopes to treat 2,000 acres of land owned by nearly 200 landowners. 

Richard Kavinoky has benefited from the program in the past. Kavinoky owns land in Monan’s Rill, a community east of Santa Rosa in the Mayacamas Mountains. He received funding and guidance from the program to hire a company to cut, pile and burn vegetation that had been left behind after the Glass Fire burned through his property.  

According to Cal Fire, the Glass Fire started in September 2020 and burned 67,000 acres in Napa and Sonoma counties until it was contained in mid-October.  

“Now, 200 burn piles later, the work is done, and we are much better protected from a future wildfire coming from the east,” Kavinoky said.  

For Oona Heacock, executive director of Conservation Works, the program seeks to empower landowners to take the steps they need to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health. “By working with local communities to manage their forests, we’re helping them face the challenges of drought, heat, and wildfire head-on, while supporting California’s broader goals for resilience and sustainability.” 

The 2025 North Bay Forest Improvement Program will begin accepting applications from private landowners in Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties in the summer. More information is available here.