Goals & Needs

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Coarsegold Resource Conservation District

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The Coarsegold Resource Conservation District (CRCD) is a special district of the state, located in the foothills of Eastern Madera County. Since its formation in 1966, Coarsegold RCD has been governed by a volunteer board of directors consisting of local community members and is solely grant driven. From the homestead to the high country, Coarsegold RCD aims to promote, protect, and improve the diverse natural resources of our district. Acting as the gateway to the Sierra National Forest and the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park, CRCD’s district encompasses approximately 534,380 acres of rural land in Madera County.

 

CRCD is partnered with Eastern Madera Fire Safe Council (EMCFSC) in the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program (RFFCP). The Regional Forest and Fire Capacity program aims to increase regional capacity to prioritize, develop, and implement projects to improve forest health and fire resilience and increase carbon sequestration in forests throughout California The CRCD GrizzlyCorps Fellow will work on a variety of projects related to mapping, monitoring, documenting existing and future forest health and wildfire resiliency projects in Eastern Madera County.  The projects assigned to the GrizzlyCorps fellow will assist CRCD and EMCFSC with creating a Regional Priority Plan (RPP) that identifies and prioritizes wildfire and forest resilience projects and initiatives throughout the district. Daily tasks for this remote position will include mapping, project planning, project implementation, training opportunities, and outreach to partner agencies, community members, and CRCD/EMCFSC staff.

 

The goal for this project is to build upon the CRCD’s existing collaborations between public and private entities to close the gaps in Eastern Madera County Fire Protection. The fellow will have the opportunity to work with local, state, and federal agencies to plan and prioritize fuel reduction and forest health projects in order to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and improve the health of soil and waterways in the foothills and mountains of Eastern Madera County.

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Eastern Madera Fire Safe Council

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Eastern Madera County Fire Safe Council (EMCFSC) is experiencing rapid growth and needs to expand collaborative efforts, fuel reduction, planning, and mapping capabilities.

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In 2023, EMCFSC was awarded a COCO AIM grant for the development of a list of wildfire fuel reduction projects and to fund the development of a "regional planning collaborative" to accelerate the implementation of priority projects. As we come to the close of this grant performance period, we are seeking to expand this effort by bringing on a GrizzlyCorps Fellow to take the lead on developing a strategy for increasing collaborative planning efforts within our partnerships and to assist EMCFSC staff and partners in the development of a regional project list complete with project ownership/responsibility, mapping of regional projects in multiple stages (concept to maintenance) within a comprehensive database. The projects and maps developed within will be submitted for inclusion in our Madera County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP).

 

We are looking for a person who is a great communicator, strategist and analyst, has GIS/spatial data and mapping experience, and basic knowledge of forestry as it applies to wildfires and project planning for wildland urban interface (WUI). The Fellow will need to be a self-starter and be able to manage their own time in a remote position, with the ability to attend some weekend and evening in-person meetings in Eastern Madera.

 

The Fellow will have two main areas of responsibility.

• As the Planning Collaborative Lead, the fellow will be tasked with analyzing gaps in regional collaboration using the guidance of the Fire Adapted, Communities Framework (FAC) and designing a foundation for the Planning Collaborative operations and structure. After a comprehensive plan for the Planning Collaborative is developed based on the FAC Framework, the Fellow will have identified gaps in partnerships and areas where we can improve collaborations. The Fellow will reach out to area partners to present the findings to the Planning Collaborative and new potential partners, and develop annual operating and communication procedures for the Planning Collaborative. This may include cataloging data and regular meetings with partners such as CAL FIRE, SNF, Madera County Government, Office of Emergency Services, and other local partner agencies.

• In their role assisting EMCFSC with developing the regional database of wildfire hazard reduction projects, they will work alongside executive staff and partners in the cataloging, categorizing, spatial mapping, and maintenance scheduling of projects in all phases of development. This data will be organized for the future development of an online platform for an Eastern Madera County Fuel Reduction Project Database.

 

The position will be primarily remote, with the possibility of some office hours in Eastern Madera as needed. Currently, EMCFSC staff are working an estimated 75-80% remotely, with 20-15% in person at events, meetings, and project site visits. These percentages may shift to more in-person meeting requirements as the Planning Collaborative grows. The Fellow's service will be directly related to positive outcomes of our region in the areas of forest resilience, community adaptation to wildfire, and collaborative efforts through focused capacity building.

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Capacity Building Projects

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Coarsegold Resource Conservation District

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The Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program (RFFCP) aims to increase regional capacity to prioritize, develop, and implement projects to improve forest health and fire resilience and increase carbon sequestration in forests throughout California. Broad and inclusive outreach and involvement in decision-making is a priority of the program. Regional block grantees are expected to partner extensively across their region to identify priorities and develop projects. Current block grantees partner heavily with state, federal, tribal, and local governments as well as water agencies, resource conservation districts, fire-safe councils, and other nonprofits. 
 

The Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Priority Pipeline Coordinator is a new position created for the CRCD and EMCFSC to aid regional partners of the Madera County Fire Prevention Planning Collaborative in expanding the pace and scale of forest health and fuels management projects as part of a regional effort to improve fire prevention and forest health. The GrizzlyCorps Fellow will engage in private and public outreach to gain knowledge of existing and proposed fire prevention/fuel reduction efforts through meetings, correspondence, outreach events, social media engagement, and partner agency interaction.
 

Through research and engagement, the GrizzlyCorps Fellow will map and document hazard areas, fuel treatments, community concerns, and agency/public involvement in order to identify gaps and areas of overlapping interests. The outcome of this project will be to provide the foundation for a county-wide fire prevention data hub that can be easily accessed by agencies throughout the county to better plan future efforts.
 

This effort will assist CRCD/EMFSC in creating a Regional Priority Plan (RPP) filled with a variety of new and innovative projects, maintenance schedules for existing efforts, easily accessible mapping and data, and future collaborative opportunities to address wildfire and climate resiliency in Madera County. The RPP for CRCD/EMCFSC must include the following elements:

• an analysis of the social and biophysical geography of the region;

• an outline of the programs, policies, and other efforts to coordinate work in the region (governance structure);

• a methodology for how projects are identified and prioritized; and

• a mechanism to capture the state of project development, the scope, quality, and quantity of projects.

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The RPP will aid in guiding fuel reduction activities in Eastern Madera County for many years to come. The GrizzlyCorps Fellow will aid the Madera County Fire Prevention Planning Collaborative’s goal of improving communication and collaboration in order to expand fuel reduction and forest health projects throughout the region.

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Eastern Madera Fire Safe Council

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Project 1: Planning Collaborative Development

1. Will work under EMCFSC in partnership with CAL FIRE, SNF, Madera County, Local Tribes (Mono, Chukchansi), Red Cross, RCDs, and more.

2. Planning Collaborative Lead and Regional Analyst

3. Identify gaps in collaboration and readiness using the FAC framework, develop a foundational operational structure, and build on communication/meeting needs.

4. The Planning Collaborative's goal is to consolidate and collaborate to increase regional capacity, accelerate risk mitigation, and bring critical partners together to create cohesive and complementary strategies for risk mitigation in Eastern Madera County

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Project 2: Database Development

1. Will work under EMCFSC and with partners and staff, as listed above

2. Assistant Developer

3. The Fellow will assist in the development of the framework for a regional database of project details, scope, phase, maintenance, and mapping to help the regional collaborative accelerate the implementation of plans, identify gaps in treatment strategies, and design maintenance timelines. This database will be fluid and grow as time goes on to be a robust source of info for partners and state and federal analysts. We will also be building out the database structure as a tool for adding addendums/plans/maps to our regional CWPP.

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Organizational & Community Highlights

 

Eastern Madera County is the pathway to Yosemite National Park, with the south gate entrance being no more than 15 minutes away. Our area is ripe with wildlife, recreation opportunities, and a tight-knit small-town feel resides in the unincorporated communities, all with their unique histories. Collaboration is everything in our region. Organizationally, EMCFSC is a focused, driven, and community-oriented entity. We are a nonprofit that launched from the determination of a small group to contribute to regional safety efforts, and that atmosphere of fire-focus is always present. That said, we are quick to develop strong partnerships due to the inviting nature of our mission, which is to involve all stakeholders and partners to the table under the umbrella of a familiar passion; wildfire resilience and adaptation. In the EMCFSC leadership and in partnerships, you will find a great sense of fellowship and a great environment to learn and grow. The potential is here for career development.

 

CRCD and EMCFSC are small, flexible, family friendly organizations comprised of dynamic and enthusiastic professionals. Team members come from a variety of backgrounds, yet all members are focused on working together to protect and improve the vast natural resources of Madera County. Current and past projects of the organizations include Defensible space projects, fuel breaks, roadside vegetation management, erosion control, trail improvement, reforestation, native plant installation, and invasive species removal.

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Our teams enjoy all share a love of the outdoors, which drives our passion to protect these spaces. Eastern Madera County is home to the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park, Sierra Vista Scenic Byway, Bass Lake, San Joaquin River, and Southern Sierra Nevada Wilderness, providing internationally renowned outdoor adventures for tourists and residents alike. Fellows can enjoy hiking, biking, rock climbing, wakeboarding, kayaking, paddle boarding, fishing, and camping at countless sites throughout the county. For the GrizzlyCorps fellows that has a passion for the outdoors, Madera County is rich in opportunity.

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