to get this money out the door, and many projects across the state are funded. But the clock is ticking. Without the green light to complete prescribed burns, fuel breaks and vegetation thinning, nearby communities are at the mercy of another wildfire season that threatens to be just as devastating as the last two, which burned nearly 7 million acres combined.
But more than two years into the program, it hasn't resulted in a single completed project. A handful of local groups have begun projects using CalVTP, but it's unclear how much progress they've made, because the Board of Forestry only collects data on a project when it's finished. As of late March, the Natural Resources Agency said only 26 projects had been approved and another 45 proposals were being reviewed.
"The California Vegetation Treatment Program, this one-stop shop for permitting … is now in action," said Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Agency secretary, at aLien-Mager, with the Natural Resources Agency, did not address specific requests for comment regarding Crowfoot's remarks. So the burn association decided to use the traditional environmental review process. That required 10 separate project applications. As of this winter, two burns had been completed, with the rest moving through the development and approval process.
There are other potential complications.
The Yuba Water Agency hired the same consulting firm that crafted the giant environmental review document for CalVTP. Lessard said that decision also helped the agency navigate the new approval process.