Information provided by San Benito Resource Conservation District
The State Coastal Conservancy approved in June spending $758,000 for a San Benito Wildfire Resilience Plan. Widespread collaboration across the county, as well as neighboring counties, will result in a plan to manage the ecological balance of fire while reducing risk for people.
“This grant will not only make residents of San Benito safer in the long run, but also protect valuable natural resources, such as the Pajaro River and San Benito River watersheds,” said project lead Barb Satink Wolfson, UC Cooperative Extension fire advisor for San Benito, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties.
An update of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan is included in the scope of this project. Several “ready to go” on-the-ground projects – such as wildfire hazard reduction treatments and prescribed fire – will result from this planning process. To encourage community input, the project calls for five public meetings to be held with county residents.
The grant includes:
- Funds for the San Benito Resource Conservation District (SBRCD) to hire a staff
member to assist with the plan and expand their capacity to help the community
address fire-related issues. - Funds for the San Benito Agricultural Land Trust (SBALT) to hire a new staff
member to assist with the plan and expand their capacity to address fire-related
issues within conservation easements and properties. - Funds for the Amah Mutsun Land Trust to assist with identifying areas of cultural
significance. - Travel funds for San Benito Fire Safe Council members, SBRCD and/or SBALT
staff to attend the annual Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Conference in Reno,
Nevada, in March 2024. - Funds for up to 40 stipends to offset the costs of attending meetings and/or
workshops for those with working lands so they can contribute to the plan. - Funds for up to 100 travel reimbursements to help offset community members’
travel costs to attend meetings and/or workshops so they can contribute to the
plan. - Funds to develop priority projects, including environmental review.
- Funds for Spanish translation.
For more information, contact Barb Satink Wolfson at bsatink@ucanr.edu.