SANTA BARBARA, Calif (December 1, 2025) – At its November 20th meeting, the California Coastal Conservancy awarded $305,000 to the Cachuma Resource Conservation District (CRCD) to enhance capacity within the organization by adding a staff position to carry forward CRCD’s priority to support wildfire resilience and preparedness. These funds build off of a State Coastal Conservancy grant received in 2023 for the Wildfire Resilience Collaborative (WRC) which was highly successful with engaging stakeholders and partners adding over 50 wildfire prevention and mitigation projects to the Regional Priority Plan (RPP).

“We are excited about the opportunity to add staff whose primary focus will be to continue the exceptional work of the WRC and shepherd priority projects toward implementation,” said Lacy Litten, Executive Director, Cachuma Resource Conservation District. “Fresh off of local wildfire devastation, we are eager to address the environmental impact by seeking opportunities to prevent wildfire risk, improve forest health, restore habitat, and protect biodiversity.”

These funds will allow the CRCD to elevate its technical assistance for projects that support vegetation management strategies, improve ecosystem function, and engage public and private landowners with funded programs that can plan, support, and accelerate wildfire mitigation projects and methods. Where previous efforts have been focused in the southern portion of Santa Barbara County, outreach will expand into the Lompoc Valley and other underserved areas of the County.

“Our main goal in working in the wildfire resilience space is to take projects identified in the RPP from concept to completion,” said Lacy Litten, Executive Director, Cachuma Resource Conservation District. “By partnering with other agencies such as the Santa Barbara Fire Safe Council, U.S. Forest Service, and County Fire, among others, we can leverage the strengths within each organization to maximize opportunities of creating more fire-adapted communities.”

For more information visit www.sbcwildfireresilience.org.