SNC to Consider Millions in Wildfire Resilience and Recreation Grants

CALIFORNIA — The Sierra Nevada Conservancy announced on May 21, 2026, that its governing board will consider awarding millions of dollars in grants for wildfire resilience and recreation projects. The California state agency, established in 2004, works to improve the environmental, economic, and social well-being of the Sierra-Cascade region. Board members will meet on June 4 at Veterans’ Memorial Hall in Weaverville. If approved, the awards will support forest health restoration and outdoor access improvements across multiple counties.

The board may award just over $1.45 million to two wildfire-resilience projects. Those efforts will reduce overly dense fuels and reinforce fuelbreaks in Mariposa County and Nevada County. Funds come from the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Directed Grant Program, supported by the 2024 California Climate Bond through early action by Governor Newsom and the legislature.

In Nevada County, the proposed wildfire project is the Wolf Creek Watershed/Boston Ravine Corridor Project led by the City of Grass Valley. The $720,000 grant would treat approximately 240 acres of heavily overgrown forested land in the southern portion of Grass Valley, primarily along Highway 49 around residential and commercial properties. Work would include mechanical treatment, hand thinning, grazing, herbicide application, and prescribed burning as needed, plus coordination with Caltrans on evacuation routes. The effort aims to reduce fire risk that could funnel flames into the city via the Wolf Creek corridor, protecting more than 6,500 structures, homes, businesses, and infrastructure.

Board members may also approve just under $3.2 million for seven recreation projects. The selected efforts will plan and implement site improvements and new opportunities in Butte, Kern, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Tehama, and Trinity counties. Those dollars were made available through Proposition 68, the 2018 voter-approved bond for parks, environment, and water projects.

The Van Norden Meadow Recreation Project, led by the South Yuba River Citizens League, is proposed for Nevada and Placer counties. The $499,950 grant would support construction of a 5.5-mile multi-use loop trail, boardwalks, a viewing platform, two trailheads with parking and vault toilets, and drainage improvements in the 485-acre Van Norden Meadow. Located off Interstate 80 at Soda Springs on the west flank of Donner Pass, the meadow serves as headwaters for the South Yuba River and sees heavy winter and summer recreation use. The work would manage visitor impacts, protect sensitive habitat and cultural resources, reduce erosion, and improve water quality.

In addition, the board will consider new guidelines for the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Grant Program. The same session may approve the agency’s inaugural Landscape Grant Program. If approved, the program will open $45 million from the Climate Bond for regional priority projects that advance forest and watershed health at a larger scale.

The Landscape Grant Program builds on the agency’s 2022 Landscape Investment Strategy. Staff plan to evaluate collaborative groups with shovel-ready projects and could recommend initial awards as early as the December board meeting.

The full board meeting begins at 9 AM on June 4 and remains open to the public. Residents may submit written comments by 5 PM on Friday, May 29, by emailing public-comments@sierranevada.ca.gov. Detailed agenda information appears on the agency’s website at tmmlink.com/j3miUNu.