National Forest Foundation | Southern California Forest Fund

Southern California Forest Fund

The National Forest Foundation established the Southern California Forest Fund to restore the health and vitality of Southern California’s National Forests – the Cleveland, San Bernardino, Los Padres, and Angeles National Forests.

These cherished landscapes continue to be threatened by wildfires, invasive pests, and droughts. Without continued support and restoration, we risk the health of local forests and watersheds, and the loss of recreation opportunities across Southern California.

Over half of California’s population calls Southern California home. Many of these 20 million people live within an hour’s drive of a National Forest. Hundreds of thousands of these residents live along the foothills or within the 3.5 million acres of National Forests in the region. Over 5 million people visit these Forests each year, making them some of the most heavily used in the country.

National Forests also provide over half of California’s water supply. Without restoration of our watersheds, the quality and quantity of Southern California’s local water supply is at risk.

How will we put your donation to work?

Funds will be used on Southern California National Forests primarily for four purposes:

Post-wildfire Restoration. Conducting restoration activities such as reforestation, soil stabilization and erosion control, rebuilding damaged infrastructure, and ensuring safe hiking and road corridors for forest visitors.

Wildfire Resilience. Mitigating the risk of unnaturally severe wildfire in the future through activities to improve forest health and resilience such as forest thinning, prescribed burning, invasive species management, and ecological restoration.

Recreation Improvements. To build out and maintain recreation infrastructure including trails, trailheads, campgrounds, visitor centers, and picnic areas for the benefit of the millions of residents and visitors who recreate on National Forests each year.

The NFF will implement projects directly with the Forest Service, through other nonprofit partners, with commercial vendors, or through agreements with state or local authorities to achieve the greatest impact with contributed funds. Funds will be applied to the greatest need as determined by the NFF in consultation with the Forest Service.

Youth Engagement and Workforce Development. Fostering the next generation of public land community leaders and stewards is essential to the health and resilience of our National Forests.

Read more about our project work here.

Donate or start your own fundraiser to support the Southern California Forest Fund today.

Contact

Learn more about how you can support the Southern California Forest Fund

Dania Gutierrez, Southern California Program Director, at [email protected]

Cindy Villegas, California Development Coordinator, at [email protected]