The Angeles National Forest, Los Padres National Forest and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation have announced the next phase of funding availability for landscape-scale restoration efforts on U.S. Forest Service lands.

The Southern California Forests and Watersheds – Wildfires Restoration Grant Program will direct funding to restore watersheds impacted by fires, and leverage the expertise, capacity and passion of partners to help recover forest landscapes, improve watersheds and increase resilience on the forest.

The NFWF and their USFS partners welcome proposals for the next round of grant funds through the program.

Approximately $8 million dollars will be available for award in this grant cycle to be directed toward fire restoration and recovery from the following fires: on the ANF, the Copper, Powerhouse, Ranch and Sayre fires; and on the LPNF, the Jesusita, Piru and Zaca fires.

Details of the program, application information, and submittal deadlines are available through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s website.

Preliminary proposal submissions are due Monday, Feb. 11. Applicants will be expected to leverage at least 50 percent in matching value. Grant applications that maximize matching contributions and partnerships are strongly encouraged.

Additionally, NFWF will host two Open House meetings to discuss the program and how to apply for grants:

· Tuesday, Jan. 22, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Arcadia Women’s Club, 324 S. First Ave., Arcadia, CA, and;

· Wednesday, Jan. 23, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Acton-Agua Dulce Library, 33792 Crown Valley Road, Acton, CA.

The Open House meeting nearest the Los Padres National Forest will be held on:

· Friday, Jan. 25, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Bren Hall – Room 1414 on the University of California, Santa Barbara campus.

For those who cannot attend any of the Open Houses in person, a webinar will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 29. Registration information can be found here and on the program’s RFP page.

For more information, contact Jim Bond with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation at 415-243-3107 or Jim.Bond@nfwf.org.