Forestry & Wildfire

Forestry & Wildfire

The Gold Ridge RCD partners with landowners, local fire safe councils, fire departments, the County of Sonoma, CAL FIRE and others to plan, design and implement community wildfire and forest resilience projects. Sonoma County, like many California counties, is annually threatened by catastrophic wildfire, particularly in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Our local topography, fuels, and Mediterranean climate make our county subject to periodic wildfires. Combined with 100 years of effective fire suppression across the state, these conditions have led to uncharacteristically high fuel loads which has resulted in several devastating wildfires recently impacting our community.

The RCD has a long history of collaborating with local community and agency stakeholders to provide county residents with educational, science-based solutions, and cost share assistance. Our new Forestry and Wildfire Resilience programs assist rural landowners and communities through comprehensive wildfire management planning processes, community-based organizing, education, increased access to fuels management services, and funding for non-commercial forest improvement activities (such as thinning, planting, pruning, and fuel hazard reduction) to mitigate wildfire risk and improve forest health in this highly fire-prone region.

Frequently served: Forestland owners, farmers, fire safe councils and communities

The RCD provides non-industrial forestland managers with assistance to support conservation activities through technical education, site visits, planning services, project funding and project management. Priority resource concerns include forest susceptibility to drought, pest, disease, and wildfire; post-fire damage; community susceptibility to wildfire; degraded wildlife habitat; degraded water quality. If you aren’t already working with a registered professional forester, we can help you connect with one, including our staff forester. We may also put you in contact with the technical staff of your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE), or the California Department of Forestry and Fire Management (CAL FIRE).

Ways to participate:

Resources:

What We Do

The RCD supports Sonoma County landowners, public agencies, and graziers in using targeted livestock grazing to reduce wildfire risk. We provide education, technical support, and funding for grazing projects that reduce fine fuels, manage invasive species, and prepare landscapes for wildfire recovery.

Why Grazing Works

  • Adaptable: Minimal air/noise pollution, works near structures and steep slopes
  • Cost-Effective: Fewer permits required than mechanical treatments or prescribed burns
  • Climate-Friendly: Carbon beneficial and appropriate for sensitive ecological areas
  • Fire Prevention: Reduces flame length and fire intensity, creating natural fire barriers

WhoWe Serve & What We Provide

Landowners

  • List of qualified contract graziers
  • Help establishing vegetation management goals
  • Financial assistance for grazing contracts

Contract Graziers

  • Mini-grants for infrastructure (fencing, mobile corrals, water trailers)
  • Business planning support
  • Inclusion on our qualified grazier list

Public Land Agencies

  • Technical assistance and operational planning
  • Funding for infrastructure and contract grazing
  • Community Grazing Cooperatives
  • Mini-grants to increase grazing capacity
  • Peer learning opportunities

Is Your Property a Good Fit?

We evaluate projects based on:

  • Access: Can livestock trailers reach the site?
  • Water: Available water source or ability to transport water
  • Site Characteristics: Size, slope, vegetation type, and timing needs
  • Safety: Proximity to schools, homes, roads, and other considerations

Ways to Participate:

Currently we do not have an open call for projects. If you are interested in learning more about this program please contact your local RCD for more information.

Sonoma RCD

Brett LeDuc

bleduc@sonomarcd.org

707-569-1448 x 120

Gold Ridge RCD

William Hart

William@goldridgercd.org

707-823-5244 x 15

Resources

Funders Below

Funding for the LandSmart Grazing program is provided by a Vegetation Management Project Grant from the County of Sonoma

In order to prevent homes and infrastructure from being lost in a wildfire, CALFIRE and local fire districts require that residents maintain a safe barrier (“defensible space”) around them. Adequate defensible space acts as a barrier to slow or halt the progress of fire that would otherwise engulf your property. It also helps ensure firefighter safety while defending your home. Defensible space is the first line of defense for your home against wildfire. The RCD supports our county’s pre-fire partner, Fire Safe Sonoma, and other fire safe councils in providing technical assistance to our communities.

Project examples:

Ways to participate:

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The North Bay Forest Improvement Program (NBFIP) is an innovative incentives program funded through CAL FIRE. Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) in Sonoma, Mendocino and Napa Counties the Clear Lake Environmental Research Center (CLERC) have partnered with Conservation Works to offer the North Bay Forest Improvement Program (NBFIP) to help private non-industrial small forestland owners/managers (between 5 and 500 acres) implement non-commercial forest improvement activities such as thinning, planting, pruning, and fuel hazard reduction.

The North Bay Forest Improvement Program is an incentives program, similar to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the California Forest Improvements Program (CFIP), providing public funds to support private investment in forest health and resilience projects; reducing vegetative fuel loads and risks of wildfire, insect infestation, and disease epidemics on private properties in the North Bay’s diverse and valuable forestlands. 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 the NBFIP  grant guidelines.

Ways to participate:

  • The next round of applications for Project Implementation will open July 8th, 2026 and close August 5th, 2026.
  • Applications for a Forest Management Plan (FMP) can be submitted anytime.

Resources:

The Sonoma County Forest Conservation Working Group (Forest Working Group) is a network of local forest landowners, land managers, foresters, land trusts, watershed councils, non-profits, government agencies, researchers and educators. The Working Group brings forestry and conservation expertise to educational events and projects designed for the public. The Working Group’s mission is to protect forests across landscapes and through generations. The Working Group exists to perpetuate sustainable, healthy, and diverse forests, woodlands and watersheds across the Sonoma County landscape, and to be a catalyst, source of information, and point of contact for forestland owners.

Ways to participate:

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Forest Stewardship is a natural resources-minded approach to managing forestland. It takes into consideration the goals and objectives of the landowner while ensuring natural resources are enhanced, not degraded. This approach requires an understanding of the land’s history, the current condition, and a vision for the future that addresses access (roads and trails), infrastructure (structures, bridges, water tanks), soils, hydrology, ecology and sometimes forest productivity. A Forest Management Plan is a document created by the landowner and their forester that contains all of this information.

Sonoma and Gold Ridge RCDs can provide professional forester assistance to landowners interested in developing a Forest Management Plan. The California Family Forest website is also a great resource for landowners beginning the process of developing a forest management plan. Additionally, UCANR is currently providing a course for landowners to learn the basics of developing a management plan. Both are excellent resources that can assist landowners in working with a forester on this comprehensive document.

The benefits to having a forest management plan aren’t just intrinsic (though it is always good to have a plan!). There are government cost-share programs designed to help landowners cover the costs of managing their forests. These programs provide incentive payments for forest stewardship activities such as: non-commercial thinning, pruning, planting, chipping, and pile burning. Many of these practices benefit tree growth and reduce fuel hazards. Two notable programs are Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provided by the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and the RCDs’ North Bay Forest Improvement Program (NBFIP). These programs require that landowners have an approved forest management plan before they enter into cost-share agreements with landowners. Forest management plans written by the RCD qualify for both programs.

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A Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is a community-based plan focused on identifying and addressing local hazards and risks from wildfire. A CWPP identifies wildfire risks and provides a roadmap of actions, including improving emergency communications, structure hardening, defensible space around buildings and infrastructure, vegetation management projects, suppression resources, and public education.

Project examples:

Ways to participate:

  • None at this time

Resources:

Forest landscape in western Sonoma County
Monte Rio Fire District firefighter feeding brush into a Bandit wood chipper during a wildfire fuel reduction training day