Forest Service News Release
Media Contact:
Region 5 Media Desk
USDA Forest Service invests in projects to restore state and private forests across Pacific Southwest Region
VALLEJO, Calif., Aug. 20, 2025 — Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service announced it is investing nearly $500,000 in two projects across the Pacific Southwest Region to restore state and private forestlands. These investments directly support the agency’s efforts to reduce wildfire risk, increase timber production, and expand rural economies, while providing critical support to landowners across management jurisdictions as they work to promote healthy, productive forests that benefit rural communities.
The investments, totaling $7 million nationwide, are being delivered as competitive grants through the Landscape Scale Restoration program. Of the total funding, $600,000 will support two projects for federally recognized tribes.
The two projects here in the Pacific Southwest Region include:
- Humboldt County Resource Conservation District – ($299,380): This project will support collaboration and public-private partnerships to help increase the pace and scale of prescribed fire projects and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire in Southern Humboldt. Outcomes include — treating 235 acres for hazardous fuels and enhanced wildlife habitat, 100+ acres of invasive plant/weed management, 3,000+ acres under new forest stewardship plans, community engagement with landowners, and prescribed-fire training opportunities.
- University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability & Sea Grant / Guam Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Soil Resources Division – ($200,000): To slow erosion, this project will plant 12,000 Acacia seedlings, maintain 10 acres of forest stands through pruning and mulching, and engage local hunters permitted in the project site to strategically install 20 hoofed-mammal deterrents, and 15-20 hunter-facilitation devices.
Between 2018 and 2024, the Forest Service awarded 359 competitive grants to support projects in 47 states and five territories for a total of $91.2 million dollars in federal funding.
Complete list of funded projects for Fiscal Year 2025 is available on the Forest Service website: www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/
The Forest Service manages 18 national forests in the Pacific Southwest Region, encompassing over 20 million acres across California, and assists landowners in California, Hawai’i and U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands. National forests supply 60% of the water in California and form the watershed of most major aqueducts and more than 2,400 reservoirs throughout the state.
For regional happenings, follow @YourPSWForests on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Or search for individual national forests on Facebook and X.
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