Statewide Programs
The Watershed Research and Training Center works with numerous partners, academics, policymakers, and stakeholders across the state of California to create a robust wildfire resilience workforce and create markets for underutilized woody materials.
Scroll to learn more about our statewide programs:
California Forest Biomass Working Group, Beneficial Fire Training, and Regional Forest and Fire Capacity
California Forest Biomass Working Group
The Watershed Center is a leader and co-founder of the California Forest Biomass Working Group (CA Forest BWG). The CA Forest BWG was founded to encourage biomass development, related policy, and economic opportunities in California. Composed of a variety of wood energy interests, the CA Forest BWG includes organizations with diverse perspectives that gather and distribute information and data about forest biomass energy use in California.
If you are interested in attending a CA Forest BWG meeting, contact our Biomass Utilization Program Manager, Martin Twer at martin@thewatershedcenter.com.
Beneficial Fire Training
Did you know that the Watershed Center has a team of beneficial fire practitioners dedicated to increasing the use of beneficial fire across the State of California through training, coaching, and mentoring?
Andrea and José are our Prescribed Fire Training Specialists. They travel all over the State working with community groups to scale up the use of good fire.
Hannah is our Northern Sierra Beneficial Fire Training Coordinator. She provides access to training and supports inclusive burn opportunities in 8 counties in northeastern California.
Our team hosts hands-on beneficial fire trainings, supports our partners during burns with leadership and mentorship, and travels the State with two Type 6 demonstration fire engines.
The Rx Fire program works with our statewide partners on:
Supporting new and existing Prescribed/Beneficial/Intentional Fire Training Exchange (TREX) events
Developing local Prescribed Burn Associations
Regional Forest and Fire Capacity
The Watershed Center is one of the California Department of Conservation’s Regional Forest and Fire Capacity (RFFC) grantees. While many of the other RFFC grantees work in a specific region of the state, our program is statewide in nature and leverages our thirty-year track record of success regarding building place-based, strategic capacity for wildfire resilience. Our RFFC grant focuses on building technical capacity, providing professional development, peer networking to advance the dissemination of best practices, advancing state policy and programs, and coordinating the other RFFC grantees. Our RFFC team is advancing the following desired outcomes throughout the state:
California wildfire resilience practitioners’ capacity to advance their state’s forest and fire strategies increases. Practitioners have access to a range of strategy and skill development tools, ideas, resources, and support in implementing them. Projects and practices are responsive to local assets and needs and advance socially and ecologically grounded visions for improved fire outcomes. Practitioners are able to access support and connections over time as their work and context evolves.
More pathways are created to build the workforce for the full range of wildfire resilience employment opportunities; long term, the wildfire resilience workforce is representative of the population.
Intertribal efforts receive funding in a manner that is native-led and respects tribal sovereignty.
The advancement of one or more wildfire mitigation demonstration projects that benefit communities through collaboration.
Other RFFC grantees have coordinated communications with one another and technical assistance as needed.
The California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force strategies and plans reflect the learning and state of practice that California-based practitioners (and national partners) are enacting. State wildfire strategies are more inclusive of social and cultural considerations. Issues of multi-scalar governance and investment systems are illuminated, which supports the evolution of aligned strategies that will enable multi-scalar action. The needs of local and regional actors are documented and shared with program and policy level actors to support alignment.
Enabling policies and/or authorities as well as barriers to wildfire resilience and forest stewardship implementation are identified and understood.
To learn more about different WRTC programs contributing to RFFC, see the following links:
California Wildfire Resilience Policy, Strategy, and Partnerships (link forthcoming)
This map shows the various subawardees, training recipients, and other key partners involved in the Watershed Center’s RFFC program.
In addition to the partners located on the map above, the Watershed Research and Training Center works with a number of other statewide and national partners to advance the goals and objectives of RFFC:
California Fire Safe Council
Cause Capacity
Fire Learning Network
Indigenous Stewardship Network
The Nature Conservancy
The work upon which this publication is based was funded in whole or in part through a Regional Forest and Fire Capacity grant awarded by the California Department of Conservation.
