Vegetation Management across the County
Following the 2020 wildfire season, which included the devastating Glass Fire, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors established the Sonoma County Vegetation Management Grant Program to provide resources and grant funding for vegetation management in areas at high risk of wildfire.
In its four grant funding cycles, the Vegetation Management project has funded 74 different projects across the county and supported the work of local and regional fire districts, local Firewise and Community Wildfire Prevention Plan projects, Resource Conservation Districts, homeowner associations, nonprofit organizations, Tribes, and resource managers.
Funded projects include implementing shaded fuel breaks, increasing grazing and calming zones, the use of prescribed fire, and the development of educational and technical tools – all of which are designed to slow or prevent the spread of wildfire in our community. Overall, these projects have resulted in:
- 630 defensible homes and/or infrastructure
- 82 miles of shaded fuel breaks
- 64 miles of roadside vegetation management treatment
- And over 30,000 acres of prescribed fire or grazing
The program is funded via a portion of the PG&E settlement resulting from damages that occurred in the 2017 Tubbs Fire. While the program is a County of Sonoma project, it is managed and implemented by Sonoma County Ag + Open Space. Ag + Open Space is a special district of the County, created by visionary voters in 1990 and tasked with conserving the natural and working lands of Sonoma County. However, no taxpayer funding is used to complete these wildfire resilience efforts.
To learn more about past projects, check out:
Additionally, landowners and interested resource managers can explore the Resilient Forests and Watersheds website, which is aimed at informing and guiding wildfire resilient actions. To learn more, visit: https://www.sonomacountyresilient.org/.
Looking ahead, the County’s vegetation management efforts will focus on building community capacity through hands-on workshops, technical assistance, and grant funding to help landowners and managers protect and enhance Sonoma County’s forests and watersheds while reducing wildfire risk.