Executive Director’s September 12, 2023

Forest Service Funding – The Forest Service will be notifying applicants regarding the IRA submittals this month, I’ve been told.

Forest Service Update I’ve spent nearly two weeks finalizing mid-year reports to Forest Service on two grants, along with the associated finances. If you’d like to see them, please just ask.

Cal Fire – Still waiting for response from closeout packages and our most recent invoices. I’ve been told Walter processed our March invoices last week for Amplify the Urban Forest.

CFR 2.0 – I’ve written to Walter Passmore regarding the opportunity to revise this grant, which Sarah Gaskin, Dorothy Abeyta, and I met with him and Julia Gowin in July. He has not replied as of yet.

I had a conversation with Tanner Mar, from Cal Fire regarding funding opportunities with left-over grant dollars. I will be following-up with him.

State Policy & Advocacy – Tasha and I met with Amanda Hansen two weeks ago and still looking at a way forward with the Office of Planning and Research. I shared the Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s Urban Forestry Sustainability Standard as a way to shortcut a California effort to then customize. https://forests.org/sfi-urban-forestry-standard/

CONGRATULATIONS!

Assembly Bill 1573 – our outreach and advocacy made a huge difference. It is heartening to know that we do have some reach, and people do pay attention! The bill has been further refined to include only 10% native plants by 2029 and prohibits the inclusion of nonfunctional turf in nonresidential landscapes beginning in 2024, as of today’s amendments. Great advocacy outcome! Thanks, one and all!!

Urban Forestry Stakeholders, including myself, spent a half day with the Climate and Sustainability Branch of the California Department of Insurance discussing how it might be possible to set up a fund for urban forests in the event of disasters to get remediation work underway quickly. More to come.

Bookkeeping/Taxes/Audit, etc. – The Bookkeeper has resigned to attend nursing school. I will do this work for the foreseeable future.

I contacted an auditor and the cost of audits has more than doubled – from $ 11,000 to $15,000. There’s no wiggle room in our Forest Service grant’s budgets, but I will double-check on that. Any auditor recommendations?

Budget – to be discussed on call

Program Updates – Deb will update you on the Regional Councils’ remaining presentations.

The Forest Service funded – “Mind the Divide” project has wrapped up – Go see the website – Deb and I have plans to build on this project moving into the future. Thanks, Davey Resources, for all of the hard work and creativity! https://caufc.org/mind-the-divide-overview/

Regional Councils – no update.

Outreach – Communications report.

Fundraising

Asha, Laura, Meha, and Gordon Matassa, have formed a fundraising committee and worked hard to build a concept proposal for the Strategic Growth Council’s Community Assistance for Climate Equity Program initial submittals. Many great ideas and efforts met with roadblocks, so there will be no application, but what they did was build a relationship with the RCC leadership and have created a place for us to partner with some of their existing applicants in the future. Well done!

NEWS FLASH! I was just informed today that Pat Mahoney, the President of West Coast Arborists, Inc., has agreed to hold a fundraiser for CaUFC at his remarkable home in Orange County on November 16, 2023. Deb and I are brainstorming themes and outreach, and we will need a SOCAL committee to help spearhead the event. Pat is supplying the location and wood-fired pizzas and beverages. That’s all I know at the moment. We can discuss this on the board call next week.

Board Meetings – Our next meeting will be in-person on October 6, 2023, in Sacramento – 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The exact location will be sent soon.

Board Recruitment – Mona Cummings is our ad hoc chair. She and I will handle the applications as they come in. Please share with people you may feel would help meet our diversity goals. Application and Board member information

Here is the list of board members whose terms expire Dec 31, 2023, and we will need to know if they would be interested in another term.
• Nick Harvey, Gordon Mann, Emina Darakjy, Bob Blum, Emily Spillett-Brownlie

Wells Fargo Bank Issue – Hoping to get to Oakland to meet with Beneficial Bank this week.

Reminder: board member’s agreement to contribute $500 either directly or through other opportunities (Regional Council members excluded unless they are eager!)

Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Hughes