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North Bay Forest Improvement Program (NBFIP)

The North Bay Forest Improvement Program (NBFIP) is regional a cost-share incentives program for Lake, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma counties established in 2020 and funded through CAL FIRE’s Proposition 68 Wildfire Resilience and Forestry Assistance Grant.  NBFIP is a regional partnership led by After the Fire, USA with CLERC serving as the implementing organization in Lake County.

​NBFIP received additional financial support in 2022 through a block grant from the CAL FIRE’s Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force’s Small Private Landowner Working Group to facilitate further expansion of the program. This program is intended to blend the best parts of CAL FIRE’s California Forest Improvement Program (CFIP) and NRCS’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) within the confines of NBFIP guidelines.

The funds used in the North Bay Forest Improvement Program are intended to address forest health and fire resilience issues on private properties that are greater than 5 acres but less than 500 acres. The most competitive projects will be on properties that already have Forest Management Plans, where environmental review is done, and where archeological records searches have already been performed. ​

​For implementation projects, NBFIP provides up to 80% cost-share for landowners in Disadvantaged Communities/Severely Disadvantaged Communities and an up to 60% cost-share for landowners outside of those communities. Here is a link to a map of Disadvantaged communities (be sure to select the layer “Disadvantaged Communities - Block Groups" 2018). Much of Lake County is considered Disadvantaged.
​Technical Assistance
CLERC also has funds to provide technical assistance to landowners with 20 acres or more of forested land in creating Forest Management Plans. Having a Forest Management Plan as a forest landowner can help you learn how to be a good steward to your land, and protect it from wildfire, disease, and drought. Click here to learn more.

Technical assistance funds can also be used to help with other aspects of the application process. Contact us through our Landowner Contact Form if you think that you would benefit from a Forest Management Plan or other related assistance.
​Project Partners
  • After the Fire, USA
  • Sonoma County RCD
  • Napa County RCD
  • Mendocino County RCD
  • Gold Ridge RCD
  • CAL FIRE
  • Private Forest Landowners

NEXT APPLICATION DEADLINE IS SEPTEMBER 30, 2022