Forest Health Program

The forest health in Lake County, CA is of paramount importance due to years of devastating wildfires, prolonged drought, pest damage, conifer loss, and excessive fuel buildup. These factors, aggravated by the absence of natural fires, have left the region extremely vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires. To address this, a collaborative project, funded by CAL FIRE's Forest Health Program and California Climate Investment (CCI) funds, is focused on restoring the health and fire resilience of Lake County. It involves fuel reduction, prescribed fires, pest management, reforestation, and biomass utilization to increase carbon sequestration and decrease carbon loss from large-scale fires. The initiative, spearheaded by CLERC and various partners, aims to significantly enhance fuel reduction, reintroduce controlled fires, and restore degraded forests on a landscape scale. This effort is crucial to protect both the environment and the community from the ongoing wildfire challenges.

Through the Forest Health projects, CLERC is using various strategies to align with important state plans and laws. These include the CA Forest Carbon Plan, which aims to make forests healthier by reducing small, fire-prone trees and growing larger, more robust ones through thinning and prescribed fires. The CA 2030 Natural and Working Lands Plan intends to increase state-funded forest management and restoration. These efforts support AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which has requirements for measuring carbon in publicly funded projects to help forests absorb more carbon.

CLERC is actively working on these goals by providing data on greenhouse gas emissions and methods to turn Lake County's forests into long-term carbon sinks. This helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by forest health problems. CLERC's approach focuses on creating lasting benefits and emphasizes the importance of landowners having a Forest Management Plan to maintain fire-resilient forests.

Forest Heath Project Map for all 3 Phases

Forest Health Projects

  • Phase 3 of CLERC’s Forest Health Grant will continue and expand critical forest restoration work in and around the Mendocino National Forest. This phase includes maintenance in areas where treatments have already occurred, planning and environmental review work on private lands, and preparing thousands of acres to be shovel-ready for future forest health investments.

    The project is designed to remain within the capacity of local crews and contractors to ensure successful and timely implementation over the next five years. Activities will include fuel reduction treatments, ecological monitoring, and coordination with federal and private landowners. Environmental analysis will be conducted in alignment with state and federal requirements to ensure compliance and long-term resilience.

    This phase builds on past successes and represents another strong step toward improving the health, safety, and sustainability of Lake County’s forested landscapes.escription

  • The Northshore Restoration Project is a multi-phase project conducted over several years. The Project is in response to the Mendocino Complex Fire that burned 459,123 acres on the Mendocino National Forest in 2018 . CLERC secured grant funds to support the Forest Service restoration strategy.

  • More than 20 landowners in the vicinity of Cobb Mountain participated in a collaborative effort to improve forest health. This initiative aimed to aid the area's recovery from the 2015 Valley Fire and the prolonged drought, which resulted in extensive tree losses, among other challenges affecting California's forests. These combined efforts have established a mosaic of forested lands that have noticeably contributed to the overall forest's well-being.

  • Heart Consciousness Church, Inc. (HCC) secured Lake County's first-ever landscape-scale Forest Health grant with the help of CLERC’s co-founders. This established a landmark in the realm of private land projects marked by collaboration with local, state, and federal agencies. This project, aimed at addressing the extensive fire damage left by the 2015 Valley Fire, encompassed 990 acres in the Upper Putah Creek watershed, with active involvement from multiple landowners, agencies, and a professional forester. A range of management activities were deployed to restore forest health, ensuring long-term carbon storage in trees and soil while reducing the risk of carbon loss in future wildfires and subsequent greenhouse gas emissions. This success served as the foundation for Clear Lake Environmental Research Center's (CLERC) Fire and Forestry Program, which is now replicating this approach in landscape-scale projects on both private and federal lands throughout the county. CLERC played a pivotal role in proposing and overseeing the HCC grant.