LEAF Partnership

LEAF partners working in forest health, wildfire resilience, prescribed fire, biomass utilization, watershed restoration, tribal stewardship, and landscape-scale collaboration may want to take a close look at California's new 2026 Wildfire Resilience Block Grant opportunity.

Funded through Proposition 4, this program is designed to strengthen regional capacity by supporting collaborative, landscape-scale projects that reduce wildfire risk, improve forest and landscape resilience, and invest in long-term implementation efforts. The program emphasizes partnerships, regional coordination, and projects that deliver multiple community and environmental benefits.

This funding may be particularly relevant for:

• Forest collaboratives and stewardship organizations

• Tribes and tribal organizations

• Resource Conservation Districts

There is an exciting opportunity for high school students and recent graduates in Mono and Inyo Counties: The Outdoor Career Mini-Academy, a free 4-day program focused on careers in wildland fire, forestry, and outdoor recreation.

The academy runs August 10–13, 2026 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Wind Drift Studios in Mammoth Lakes. Each day is dedicated to one sector, with the final day covering Leave No Trace principles and outdoor safety. Participants will learn alongside local professionals through hands-on activities both on-site and at nearby outdoor locations.

Additional details worth noting:

• The program is completely free to participants thanks to support from Wind Drift Studios, Sierra Jobs First, Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access Foundation,  and Arc’teryx.

• Potential transportation assistance for participants traveling from Inyo County or northern Mono County, dependent upon need.

2026 Dairy Plus Program

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability (OARS) 2026 Dairy Plus Program will award competitive grants to California dairy farms for the implementation of advanced manure management practices that address both methane emissions and nitrogen and salt surplus.

Agency/Department Name: CA Department of Food and Agriculture

Application Close Date: 9/14/26 17:00

Estimated Available Funds: $34,000,000

Upland Game Bird Account Grant

Thank you all for contributing to robust attendance at our LEAF Workgroup meeting that took place yesterday. We were glad to hear your updates, concerns, and feedback about the tools we have developed. We continue to welcome that feedback as you familiarize yourself with the tools, so please don't hesitate to reach out to myself (skaufman@mljt.org) and Rose (rday@mljt.org) with any questions or comments.

For those who were unable to attend, you can click here to the Zoom recording. You will need to use the following passcode to access the recording: y$GpHqa7. You can also review the meeting transcript and chat log via this link.

A few highlights from the discussion:

• Partners provided valuable feedback on the Central Sierra Regional Partnership Funding Coordination Matrix, including recommendations to incorporate additional datasets, project mapping layers, funding programs, and implementation resources. Some feedback was captured in our live poll results below: