The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), through its Cannabis Restoration Grant Program (CRGP), recently announced over $20 million is available in grant funding opportunities. CDFW has released two new solicitations to support a variety of remediation, habitat enhancement and conservation projects, and to assist small cannabis cultivators become fully licensed. Both solicitations are open, continuous and non-competitive.

“We are excited about our new cannabis grant opportunities and look forward to funding a variety of projects that restore and protect California’s diverse natural resources,” said Amelia Wright, CDFW Cannabis Program Director. “These solicitations cover a wide range of activities including assisting cultivators with permitting, upgrading road crossings and culverts, cleanup and remediation of illegal grow sites and many other important projects that benefit the environment.”

Applications can be submitted under the CRGP revised Qualified Cultivator Funding Opportunity or the Cleanup, Remediation and Watershed Enhancement Funding Opportunity. More information on the solicitations and pre-application forms can be found on the CRGP website.

In 2022, the CRGP awarded nearly $5 million in grants and expects to quadruple awards this year.

Grants through the CRGP are funded through California’s Environmental Restoration and Protection Account pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code section 34019(f)(2), and may be used to fund the cleanup, remediation, and restoration of environmental damage in watersheds affected by cannabis cultivation and related activities, and to support local partnerships for this purpose.

For questions on CDFW’s CRGP, email canngrantprogram@wildlife.ca.gov.