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New Equipment on a Turlock Dairy Farm Reduces ...

California Department of Food and Agriculture

Supported by a $565,470 grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Alternative Manure Management Program, Paul Danbom of Brindeiro & Danbom Dairy Farms in Turlock took a significant step towards improving the efficiency of his dairy operation and installed a new solid separation system. Instead of flushed manure being discharged directly into a settling pond and storage lagoon system, it is now pumped through a separator capable of capturing a large portion of manure solids, keeping that organic material from entering and decomposing in a liquid environment where it would produce methane.

New Equipment on a Turlock Dairy Farm Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Produces Co-Benefits

Natural and Working Lands

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Hoopa Valley Tribe Brings Fire Back to the Land 

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Hoopa Valley Tribe Brings Fire Back to the Land 

In the Hoopa Valley Tribe’s homelands, California Climate Investments funding is helping the Hoopa Valley Tribe re‑introduce fire to an important oak woodland ecosystem. The work is supported by a $1.36 million grant from CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program.  The eastern side of the Hoopa Valley, on the current Hoopa Valley Reservation in what is known today as Humboldt County, has historically been home to extensive oak woodlands. Fire has always played an important role on this landscape—the people burned the hillsides for generations to maintain the oak trees and promote growth of other culturally important plants.  

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Ambitious Partnership Delivering the Next Generation of Old-Growth Redwood Forests 

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Ambitious Partnership Delivering the Next Generation of Old-Growth Redwood Forests 

Old‑growth redwood forests store more above‑ground carbon than any other forest type on Earth. Unfortunately, only 5% of old‑growth redwood forests survived extensive colonial logging in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Now, thanks in part to California Climate Investments funding awarded through CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program, a partnership is working to establish the old‑growth forests of the future on California’s northern coast. 

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Protection of Shasta County Ranch Provides Agricultural, Educational, Wildlife, and Climate Resiliency Benefits

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Protection of Shasta County Ranch Provides Agricultural, Educational, Wildlife, and Climate Resiliency Benefits

Ross Ranch is an 854-acre working ranch that lies within the City of Redding’s sphere of influence, or the identified expansion area for the city. The property is leased to cattle ranchers and beekeepers, with 30 acres used by neighboring Shasta College for cattle grazing. In 2018, the California Strategic Growth Council awarded the Shasta Land Trust an approximately $5.6 million Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC) grant to acquire an agricultural conservation easement that permanently protects Ross Ranch from development.

Zero-Emission Tractor Demonstration Projects in the Bay Area

Zero-Emission Tractor Demonstration Projects in the Bay Area

California Air Resources Board

Thanks to funding from California Air Resources Board’s FARMER program, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) is funding some of the first zero‑emission agricultural tractor demonstration projects in the state. BAAQMD and CARB recently awarded $1 million to manufacturers to produce seven zero‑emission tractors which are now in operation at The Mushroom Farm LLC, Old School Vineyards LP, Arroyo Lindo Vineyards, Crocker Estate, and Wente Vineyards.

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Landscape-Scale Fuels Reduction and Forest Health in the Western Klamath Region

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Landscape-Scale Fuels Reduction and Forest Health in the Western Klamath Region

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

A $5 million CAL FIRE Forest Health Program grant is supporting the Western Klamath Restoration Partnership in their efforts to restore fire resilience at the landscape scale along the Klamath River. This project is part of a larger effort by the Western Klamath Restoration Partnership to improve forest health and resilience across a 1.2 million acre planning area that includes much of the Karuk Tribe’s ancestral homelands.

Forest Health Project Helps Save Yosemite Sequoias from the Washburn Fire

Forest Health Project Helps Save Yosemite Sequoias from the Washburn Fire

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

Forest resilience treatments funded through a $2 million grant from CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program helped to save some of the world’s most iconic trees in one of the world’s most famous national parks. Protecting the ancient, majestic giant sequoias in the largest and most popular of Yosemite’s sequoia groves was an immediate concern for land managers when the Washburn Fire broke out near Mariposa Grove on July 7, 2022. Fortunately, a partnership that includes the Mariposa County Resource Conservation District, the National Park Service and local tribal forest crews had completed the important fuels reduction work that reduced the fire’s severity and helped firefighters protect the invaluable trees.

Forest Health Research Looks to Indigenous Burning Practices to Help Manage Invasive Beetle

Forest Health Research Looks to Indigenous Burning Practices to Help Manage Invasive Beetle

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

With a $100,000 grant from CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Research Program, Joelene Tamm a master's student at UC Riverside and Squaxin Island Tribal member, is partnering with the La Jolla band Luiseño Indians to investigate how indigenous cultural burning practices and traditional ecological knowledge can be used to support management of the invasive goldspotted oak borer, an invasive beetle.

The Ocean Ranch Restoration Project

The Ocean Ranch Restoration Project

California Department of Fish and Wildlife

The California State Coastal Conservancy is restoring wetlands at Ocean Ranch along the Eel River with support from a $2 million grant from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wetlands Restoration Program. The Eel River was once one of the Pacific Coast’s greatest producers of salmon and steelhead. Over the years, extensive human activities have reduced the Eel River Delta. As the estuary shrank, so did populations of salmon and other native species, and carbon sequestration rates. At the same time, non-native species proliferated.

Forest Health in San Mateo County – A Collaborative Approach

Forest Health in San Mateo County – A Collaborative Approach

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

A $2.5 million grant from CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program is supporting the San Mateo Resource Conservation District (RCD) and a network of regional partners in their efforts to improve forest resilience, increase carbon sequestration, and reduce wildfire risk to vulnerable communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Water Efficiency Improvements at Villa Pacifica Ranch

Water Efficiency Improvements at Villa Pacifica Ranch

California Department of Food and Agriculture

James (Jim) Miller received a State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) grant award of $97,614 for improvements at an orange and avocado orchard in Cayucos, California. The farm was dealing with a high energy cost and wanted to utilize irrigation tools to support more precise and efficient irrigation scheduling. Using the SWEEP funds, Jim and his son Daryn oversaw the installation of two solar energy arrays (14.72 kW and 16 kW); one for each of the on-farm wells. In addition, the recipients installed new high efficiency electric pumps with screen filters, a flow meter at each well, soil moisture sensors, and a weather station. With the addition of these tools, the farm made improvements to both the energy efficiency of their irrigation system and can make more informed irrigation decisions by relying on the sensors.

First of Its Kind Fuel Cell Project Generating Electricity from Dairy Waste

First of Its Kind Fuel Cell Project Generating Electricity from Dairy Waste

California Department of Food and Agriculture

Thanks to $3 million in funding from the Dairy Digester Research and Development Program (DDRDP), a California Bioenergy dairy digester and Bloom Energy fuel cell technology have been installed at the Bar 20 Dairy in Fresno County and are now capturing methane and generating renewable electricity without combustion. This innovative project was made possible through state incentive programs and private investors including the DDRDP administered by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and the Self Generation Incentive Program, administered by the California Public Utilities Commission, and access to revenue generated by California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credit.

Supporting Farmers and Rancher’s Access to Grant Funding

Supporting Farmers and Rancher’s Access to Grant Funding

Supported by $3.57 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Climate Smart Agriculture initiative provides technical assistance to help farmers find funding and implement projects that support their work while helping to achieve the State’s climate goals. These funds, which were leveraged by California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Strategic Growth Council, support 10 Community Education Specialists, a group of technical experts with the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Since 2019, these Community Education Specialists have assisted over 850 farmers and ranchers across the State with applications to programs under the Climate Smart Agriculture initiative.

Partnership Helps Protect San Diego County Forests

Partnership Helps Protect San Diego County Forests

The Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County (RCD) is using their $1.4 million grant awarded in 2019 from the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity program to develop the region’s capacity to restore the health of its forests and protect them from severe wildfires in the future. To carry out this work, the RCD has partnered with several California Native American Tribes, the Cleveland National Forest, a private cattle company, and the Palomar Observatory to manage the region, which includes the last mixed conifer forest in San Diego County. The RCD is also developing training programs for several Fire Safe Councils in San Diego County serving 46 communities, so they can support this work.

Healthy Soils Through Whole-Orchard Recycling

Healthy Soils Through Whole-Orchard Recycling

David Viguie of Viguie Farming is revitalizing soil health on 44 acres of a 28-year-old French prune orchard located in the city of Winters. Prior to receiving a Healthy Soils Program grant, David conventionally farmed his orchard. In his pursuit to restore the property's soil health, David applied to the Healthy Soils Program and received a $38,378 grant from California Climate Investments to achieve his goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing soil carbon by removing a prune orchard through whole-orchard recycling.

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Advancing Ecological, Cultural, and Community Resilience with Tribal Nations in Southern California

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Advancing Ecological, Cultural, and Community Resilience with Tribal Nations in Southern California

With a $990,350 award from the Climate Change Research Program, the Resilient Restoration project – led by the Climate Science Alliance Tribal Working Group, University of California Riverside, and San Diego State University – is promoting Tribal resilience by developing knowledge and supporting actions that enhance persistence of cultural practices with a focus on preserving the ecosystems and species that are integral to Tribal communities.

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Climate Resilience Planning for Key Sacramento River Watersheds

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Climate Resilience Planning for Key Sacramento River Watersheds

Supported by $400,000 from the Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program, a coalition of federal, academic, non-profit and private organizations has developed a modeling tool to enhance climate adaptation and resilience planning in five Sacramento River watersheds. These watersheds provide the vast majority of California’s utilized water and over 80 percent of the freshwater to San Francisco Bay. By estimating the ecological returns of conservation and restoration efforts, the modeling tool will help determine what future actions and investments would best restore and protect the health of this important region.

Coyote Valley Prime Farmland Preserved in Perpetuity

Coyote Valley Prime Farmland Preserved in Perpetuity

Thanks to a $780,000 grant provided by the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) program, the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (the Authority), in partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the Santa Clara County Planning Department, were able to purchase a 60-acre farm located in the Coyote Valley of Santa Clara County. This purchase adds to Coyote Valley’s growing network of protected lands and helps combat climate change by protecting prime farmland from being converted to more carbon-intensive land uses. This purchase also furthers the implementation of the comprehensive Santa Clara Valley Agricultural Plan finalized in January 2018, which Andrea Mackenzie, General Manager of the Authority defined as “a roadmap to protecting the multiple benefits that our region’s remaining farmlands and working lands provide.” This plan was also made possible by an award from the SALC program.

Restoring Coastal Wetlands and Upland Habitat in Santa Barbara County

Restoring Coastal Wetlands and Upland Habitat in Santa Barbara County

The North Campus Open Space (NCOS) project is restoring 54 acres of diverse coastal wetlands and upland habitat of native plants and grassland in Santa Barbara County. This restoration will increase Santa Barbara County’s coastal wetlands by 11 percent, which in turn will help adapt the coastal community to sea level rise by protecting inland infrastructure.

Restoring the Central Coast's "Crown Jewel" Salt Marsh

Restoring the Central Coast's "Crown Jewel" Salt Marsh

The Blue Carbon at Elkhorn Slough Project is restoring 66 acres of rare salt marsh habitat and native plants while buffering the surrounding areas against future sea level rise. The Tidal Wetland Program at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve guided the project with input from more than 100 local partners, scientists, regulators, and community members.

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Mountain Meadow Restoration Sequesters Carbon and Builds Resilience

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Mountain Meadow Restoration Sequesters Carbon and Builds Resilience

Meadows in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges act as nature’s sponge and filter, accumulating high amounts of organic soils that help provide California with a year-round water supply. Acting like a mini-reservoir, the meadows store carbon as they capture and clean water.

California Climate Investments | Cap-and-Trade Dollars at Work