Wildfire Resilience, Food Sovereignty and Cultural Resource Revitalization Project for the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County

The project aims to advance wildfire resilience, food sovereignty, and cultural resource revitalization for the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County through a series of culturally grounded fire training programs. These initiatives will include live fire cultural burning operations designed to pass down Traditional Ecological Knowledge between tribal members and staff, reinforcing intergenerational connections to land stewardship practices. Burn plots will be managed with repeated treatments as necessary to disrupt the seed cycles of invasive plant species, with pre-emergent herbicides applied selectively where appropriate to suppress non-native vegetation regrowth. The effort is led by the California State Coastal Conservancy and is centered on restoring ecological balance while reaffirming indigenous cultural practices tied to land and fire. All activities will take place across California, with direct coordination handled by Project Manager Lilly Allen, who serves as the primary point of contact. The initiative is classified as a forecast under the California State Coastal Conservancy and is part of broader efforts to support tribal-led conservation and resilience strategies. No set-aside details or NAICS code are specified, but the focus remains on empowering the Esselen Tribe through hands-on cultural burning and ecological restoration aligned with ancestral knowledge systems.