Wild Billions: Bay Nature's Reporting on BIL and IRA

The Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provide billions of dollars for nature.

How is that changing the Bay Area?

And how do 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

Our map of funded projects

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

We combed through hundreds of the funding programs Congress made in BIL and IRA, and found at least $106 billion for nature. What will the Bay Area get? 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.

Send us a tip

President Donald Trump has begun making his mark on the federal government’s environmental work and policies, including BIL and IRA. If your environment-related work inside or outside the government is being affected, we’d like to hear how. Email wildbillions@baynature.org or contact one of our staff on Signal, an app for encrypted messaging and calls:

Tanvi Dutta Gupta, senior reporting fellow: colugo_68.21

Kate Golden, senior editor: cormorant.50

Victoria Schlesinger, editor in chief: VicSch.99

If you have sensitive information or are not authorized to speak with media, please take appropriate care to avoid leaving electronic tracks (here’s a Freedom of the Press Foundation guide). Anonymous tips are welcome, and documents can be mailed from public mailboxes to our office at 1328 6th Street, Berkeley, CA 94710.

Stories in this project

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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
The Native Seed Gold Rush

Big environmental dreams—and disasters—have created demand. Now it’s time to worry about supply.
Now We Are Asking Nature to Solve the Problems We Created

What’s a nature-based solution? An explainer.
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.
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.