Volcan Mountain Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 10, 2025

Volcan Mountain Foundation Receives $400,000 Grant to Expand Forest Resilience Work

Julian, CA – The Volcan Mountain Foundation (VMF) has been awarded a $400,000 grant from state agencies to expand initial forestry treatments and perform forestry maintenance on more than 94 acres as part of VMF’s Volcan Mountain Nature Center Forest Resilience Project.

Today, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), in coordination with the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County (RCDGSDC), announced the grant.

“This funding enables expansion of our critical, ongoing, science-driven work to improve forest health and wildfire resilience across a landscape with unique conservation values,” said Volcan Mountain Foundation President and Executive Director Eric Jones. “San Diego’s montane community has high species diversity, supported by a variety of habitats such as coniferous forests, chaparral, and woodlands. As a nonprofit land trust, we work to protect against habitat loss due to wildfire and longer-term climate change factors.”

The landscape has served—and will continue to serve—as a research laboratory for ecologists studying all aspects of forest health, a source of inspiration for artists, and a living classroom for 1,200 schoolchildren each year through the Volcan Mountain Foundation’s outdoor education programs, as well as up to 800 adults annually through various outreach, volunteer, and education events.

Volcan Mountain Nature Center Forest Resilience Project
The Volcan Mountain Nature Center Forest Resilience Project is Phase 2 of a multi-year, $2.43 million stewardship effort that began in January 2024 and runs through March 2028. The project area is located approximately three miles north of the community of Julian on a private preserve owned and managed by the Volcan Mountain Foundation. VMF’s 1,100 acres of protected land contribute to a 41,000-acre network of conserved lands in the region.

The site is characterized by oak woodlands transitioning to Southern California montane forest as elevation increases through the steep drainage formed by the headwaters of Santa Ysabel Creek—a significant tributary to the San Dieguito River. Mid- to high-elevation areas of the preserve have been impacted by wildfire, with some areas experiencing multiple uncontrolled burns. These events have resulted in high-severity impacts to vegetation and have accelerated the pace of stand replacement and type conversion from forest to chaparral.

Project Activities and Fuel Treatments Include:
• Manual and mechanical thinning (density/basal area reduction) within select, high-value groves of mature mixed conifer and hardwood forest
• Shaded fuel break management and ladder fuel removal
• Mechanical treatment (mastication, livestock grazing, broadcast burning) of type-converted chaparral in preparation for reforestation
• Removal of deceased oak trees (GSOB mortality) to reduce continuity of fuel loads
• Reforestation with conifer seedlings, targeting areas around mature conifer stands

The completion of this project will enhance ecosystem functions throughout the watershed and provide high-quality habitat for sensitive species while preserving rare forest types.

CAL FIRE Southern California Regional Pilot Block Grant Portfolio

This project was selected as part of the CAL FIRE Southern California Regional Pilot Block Grant Portfolio, which encompasses three Forest Health Program projects and three Wildfire Prevention Program projects, totaling approximately 2,679 acres of treatments across more than 23 implementation sites and 24,650 acres of priority landscapes.

The Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County serves as the lead agency, utilizing the Southern California Wildfire Resilience Partnership, which includes five other Southern California agencies as subgrantees: the Inland Empire Community Foundation, Irvine Ranch Conservancy, Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, Inland Empire Resource Conservation District, and the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy.

San Diego Forest Health for Future Generations
San Diego Forest Health for Future Generations is a landscape-level project led by the RCDGSDC with four partner organizations—the Volcan Mountain Foundation, Whispering Winds Catholic Camp, Cleveland National Forest, and YMCA Camp Marston and Raintree Ranch—implementing work on six different sites across San Diego County.

Funding for the Southern California Wildfire Resilience Partnership was provided by CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program as part of California Climate Investments (CCI), a statewide initiative that allocates billions of Cap-and-Invest proceeds (formerly known as Cap-and-Trade) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen the economy, and improve public health and the environment—particularly in disadvantaged communities.

The Cap-and-Invest program creates a financial incentive for industries to invest in clean technologies and develop innovative ways to reduce pollution. CCI projects include affordable housing, renewable energy, public transportation, zero-emission vehicles, environmental restoration, sustainable agriculture, recycling, and more. At least 35 percent of these investments are located within—and benefit—disadvantaged or low-income communities and households across California.

For more information, visit the California Climate Investments website at www.caclimateinvestments.ca.gov.

For More Information
Eric Jones
President and Executive Director
Volcan Mountain Foundation
Email: eric@volcanmt.org