Partners advance forest health on fire-impacted landscape, protecting communities and State Water Project headwaters

New FRB accelerates forest restoration on Plumas National Forest, protecting the Upper Feather River Watershed, which supplies water to 27 million Californians.

TAYLORSVILLE, CA, UNITED STATES, July 9, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Blue Forest joins the Sierra Institute for the Community and Environment (Sierra Institute), USDA Forest Service, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan Water District), Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) to launch the North Feather I Forest Resilience Bond (FRB). This FRB represents a strategic alignment of organizations and governmental agencies to finance the acceleration of forest restoration activities, known as treatments, bringing a comprehensive approach to address wildfire and watershed risks in California. The FRB treatments, including fuels removal and thinning, aim to restore forest health, protect communities, and create a more resilient landscape and water supply.

The Dixie Fire, one of the largest wildfires in California’s history, devastated Greenville, and damaged Taylorsville and surrounding communities. After the fire, these communities still face a significant risk of catastrophic wildfire due to remaining overstocked green areas and residual dead fuels on the landscape. Forest restoration activities, including thinning and removal of dead fuels, are critical to safeguarding communities and the Feather River watershed. This vital watershed supplies water to approximately 27 million Californians, or one in twelve Americans, while also providing critical fish and wildlife habitat and recreational benefits.

Sierra Institute, as the North Feather I FRB implementation partner, and the USDA Forest Service are coordinating the treatment of 800-1,000 priority acres. These acres are within the broader North Fork Forest Recovery Project (NFFRP), a 166,889-acre project area that is being developed by the USDA Forest Service to strategically enhance landscape resilience, restore ecological function, protect critical resources, and support ecosystem recovery. Treatment activities are expected to reduce wildfire risk, increase water quality, protect water supply, and improve aquatic habitat.

The NFFRP is within the ancestral homelands of the Tosidem, or Mountain Maidu, People. It was planned with input from the Greenville Rancheria, and critical cultural monitoring support by the Greenville Rancheria and Maidu Summit Consortium to ensure the protection of cultural resources. Areas identified for cultural stewardship by the local Tribes include the Maidu Stewardship Project Area (MSPA), a 1,500 acre area home to the largest Native American population in Plumas County. The MSPA was developed by the Maidu Cultural and Development Group to demonstrate traditional ecological knowledge and build a collaborative relationship with the Plumas National Forest.

The FRB, co-developed by Blue Forest, the World Resources Institute, the USDA Forest Service, and the National Forest Foundation, is a financing mechanism that taps into private capital to finance forest restoration projects on public lands to protect communities, ecosystem benefits, and rural livelihoods. The provision of upfront capital, supported by contracted beneficiary commitments, allows for financial flexibility that accelerates the pace and scale of restoration activities as well as the ability to quickly pay local contractors.

The North Feather I FRB, financed by mission-driven investors through the Blue Forest FRB Catalyst Facility, provides the platform on which organizations from across sectors come together to lend their expertise, pool resources, and effectively address large-scale complex environmental problems. Funding contributions from Metropolitan Water, DWR, and PG&E, along with grant funding provided by the USDA Forest Service and CAL FIRE, are supporting the initiation of this pilot project while paving the way to scale this effort across the NFFRP landscape.

Metropolitan Water District’s support of this project aligns with their mission to enhance water supply resilience for Southern California communities in the face of climate change. By investing in watershed health, Metropolitan aims to protect, inform, and improve water source resilience in the northern Sierra Nevada, a critical region as the headwaters of the State Water Project that provides a water supply for 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. DWR, in collaboration with SNC, continues to support watershed health and resilience through the State Water Project. DWR will also contribute technical expertise to monitor and quantify the benefits of forest treatments on water quality and quantity further highlighting the benefits these projects provide. PG&E is demonstrating their continued commitment to providing resilient power and safeguarding the communities they serve, with this being the second FRB they have contributed to.

Sierra Institute, the USDA Forest Service, Blue Forest, Metropolitan Water, PG&E, DWR, and SNC are dedicated to restoring and safeguarding our precious natural resources. This swift, collaborative, and comprehensive action is essential to protecting our communities while ensuring a thriving forest ecosystem. We can reinvigorate our landscapes following catastrophic wildfires by working together, fostering recovery and ecological balance.

Learn more here.

Blue Forest is a conservation finance non-profit founded in 2015 that advances ecosystem restoration through scientific research, financial innovation, and collaborative partnerships. Since 2018, Blue Forest has managed investor capital through its flagship financial product, the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB), which deploys private capital to finance forest restoration projects to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. More recently, Blue Forest established Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM), an investment management platform connecting investors to compelling, mission-aligned opportunities in a broader set of asset classes beyond FRB projects, such as private equity and private credit investments.

Heather Druffel
Blue Forest
connect@blueforest.org
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North Feather I FRB Launch