The Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provide billions of dollars for nature.
How will that change the Bay Area?
And how will we know if it’s money well spent?
Bay Nature launched a reporting project called Wild Billions in 2023 to examine the impacts of this huge infusion of money—and the obstacles to keeping the big promises that came with it.
Dive into our data visualizations
A map of funded projects so far
We’re tracking what nature projects have been funded so far in our area—like an experimental kelp-forest restoration, major upgrades to the Presidio, and a battle against Tahoe invasives. (Help us add projects if you know of them!)
Spending programs
Bay Nature combed through hundreds of the funding programs Congress made in BIL and IRA, and found at least $106 billion for nature. See nature-related spending programs in our data viz.
How can I get some ‘Wild Billions’?
Applying for federal grants isn’t easy, especially for local governments and community groups. If you’ve got a worthy nature-related project—we’ve got some tips to get you started, and a searchable table of spending programs.
Stories in this project
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Forest Service Grants Delayed for Communities in Flammable Forests
A new federal program aimed at reducing wildfire risk has been plagued by delays—in a few cases, by over a year.
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Scientists Look to a Rare Butterfly’s Next of Kin
Maybe we can save the Lange’s metalmark. Or maybe there’s a stand-in, waiting in the wings?
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Mud-Starved Wetlands Get a Meal, At Last
With Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, the Bay’s wetlands are finally getting some precious muck. Why have we been dumping it offshore?
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Make Way for Eelgrass: Dilapidated, Unsafe, Toxic Old Pier to Be Removed at Last
East Bay Regional Park District is primed to remove the creosote-treated wood of Richmond’s Ferry Point Pier this year after two years of delays.
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Congress Expanded a Climate Program for Farmers. Now, Where Are the Applicants?
“We’re in a place where we have more money than we have applications,” says Brandon Bates, assistant state conservationist with NRCS. And the agency really doesn’t want to have tosend this money back to Congress.
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A Last Best Hope for Coho in the Russian River
Now equipped with $8.4 million in federal money, conservationists are aiming to bring back the watershed’s salmonids
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Oakland’s Urban Tree Dreams Get (Partially) Funded
The city’s draft urban forest plan has drawn more than 800 comments—many clamoring for more native trees.
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As Cities Heat Up, USDA Grants $42 Million for Urban Trees Around the Bay
The money is meant to fix longstanding tree-cover gaps in disadvantaged neighborhoods—but it’s a fraction of what’s needed.
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Newfangled Horizontal Levees Rise (Gently) Across the Bay
A dozen such projects have sprouted, offering habitat-friendly flood protection. Getting permission for them is a challenge.
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The Native Seed Gold Rush
Big environmental dreams—and disasters—have created demand. Now it’s time to worry about supply.
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Now We Are Asking Nature to Solve the Problems We Created
What’s a nature-based solution? An explainer.
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Unburying the Creek Beneath It, A School Becomes a Steward
A Sausalito school gets $3 million to repair a riparian corridor, and help students reconnect with nature.
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Map: Where Oodles of Federal Dollars for Nature Are Going
BIL and IRA spending on nature in the greater San Francisco Bay Area has topped $1 billion, according to Bay Nature’s most recent tally for our Wild Billions project.
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How Do I Get My Hands on These ‘Wild Billions,’ Anyway?
Bay Nature’s guide and database for finding nature-related federal funds in BIL and IRA.
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Scientists Try a ‘Field of Dreams’ Approach to Restoring California’s Bull Kelp Forests
Can scientists defeat vast armies of sea urchins and re-kelp California’s North Coast? A Wild Billions story.
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Historic Money for Bay Area Nature Has Started to Flow. The Challenge? Spending it.
Meet BIL and IRA—two federal bills with forgettable names that belie their enormous potential impact on the environment.
Meet the Wild Billions team
Victoria Schlesinger Editor-in-chief
Kate Golden Digital editor, Wild Billions project lead, kate@baynature.org
Anushuya Thapa Editorial fellow and Wild Billions lead reporter, anushuya@baynature.org
H.R. Smith Freelance reporter
Sonya Bennett-Brandt Freelance reporter
Alastair Bland Freelance reporter
Helen Doyle Freelance reporter
Lia Keener Outreach fellow
We’re open to new freelance pitches: use our pitch form.
Send us a tip
What should the Wild Billions team report on next? Email wildbillions@baynature.org.
If you have sensitive information, please take appropriate care to avoid leaving electronic tracks (here’s a Freedom of the Press Foundation guide). Anonymous tips are welcome.
Documents can be mailed to our office at 1328 6th Street, Berkeley, CA 94710.
