The bulk of the meeting was devoted to partner updates, which are shared in the following slides that include notes from the meeting.

Meeting Summary Some reflections on the updates: there were several instances in which ESWA partners are seeking regional collaboration (such as Mammoth Lakes Fire seeking to partner on planning) and offers of support, such as CAL FIRE, in response to current federal funding uncertainties, noting availability of funding for work on federal lands and a statutory CEQA exemption where NEPA has been completed.

The meeting also covered some of the findings from the November 2024 meeting regarding the future development and governance of the Eastern Sierra Wildfire Alliance. Participants recognize the need for a regional wildfire collaborative and defined leadership of such an entity, but there is no clear consensus around how it should be structure and what roles should be. There is agreement on the challenges of working at scale across administrative boundaries, and of limited capacity, as well as a need to improve communication among wildfire partners and with communities and visitors. Tribal partnership is also a priority for ESWA.

Based on that feedback, the proposed path forward is to conduct a 4-6 month collaborative planning process for ESWA while also continuing with partner updates and regional project list development and other near-term activities such as policy and funding updates. Development of Prop 4 grant guidelines and funding allocation plans will be a key place for ESWA to engage this year—one opportunity is through a feedback request form from CA Natural Resources Agency on grant programs.