MENDOCINO CO., 2/18/26 — GrizzlyCorps, an AmeriCorps fellowship program administered by the University of California, Berkeley that serves rural California communities, is back in action after being abruptly terminated last April, cutting three months off the service term of the 2024-2025 cohort of fellows.
And although the new cohort is now on the ground, impacts of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, cuts are still tangible: fewer positions, strained nonprofit partners, and uncertainty about the future of programs that have long supported wildfire prevention, youth mentoring and food security.
Service Corps programs such as AmeriCorps, GrizzlyCorps and the California Conservation Corps have historically played a critical role in rural counties like Mendocino. With limited tax bases and vast geographic needs, these programs provide essential labor and training while supporting nonprofits, schools and public agencies.
The terminated funding was later reinstated through a lawsuit, allowing GrizzlyCorps and similar programs to continue operating — but at reduced capacity.
“We downsized,” said Cora Fesler, GrizzlyCorps director. “Federal funding became more competitive, and we received less for 2026 than in previous years. So, we adapted.”
Despite the reduction, Fesler expressed gratitude for the support the program receives. GrizzlyCorps remains one of the few AmeriCorps programs operating in Mendocino County.
“We are grateful to be recipients of federal funding,” she said. “It allows us to continue doing the work we do.”
Launched in 2020 by the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE), in partnership with California Volunteers, GrizzlyCorps places recent college graduates in forest and farm communities throughout California. Fellows support climate resilience initiatives focused on fire and forest resilience and regenerative agriculture.
In Mendocino County and other rural areas, fellows work directly with local organizations and tribal partners to strengthen environmental stewardship and community resilience. Fesler oversees day-to-day operations and coordinates placements statewide.
Mendocino County’s three GrizzlyCorps fellows are serving their service year at the University of California’s Hopland Research and Extension Center and with the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council under the direction of GrizzlyCorps program coordinator Lily Elola. “I’m actually an alum of the program and served at Hopland a few years ago,” said Elola. “Now I help coordinate GrizzlyCorps statewide. We’re a very small team — just three staff run the program across California.”
Elola said many of the projects were already identified but stalled due to limited staffing at host sites.
“Fellows aren’t creating unnecessary work,” she said. “They’re stepping into real community needs, often without the recognition or compensation they deserve. Beyond the community benefit, this is workforce development.” She explained that fellows gain professional experience and skills that prepare them for long-term careers in environmental fields. Evelyn George, one of the three in this year’s group of fellows, was drawn to the rural and natural resource focus of the program. George, from South Lake Tahoe, serves as an education fellow at Hopland.
“I graduated from UC Berkeley in 2024 and wanted to stay in Northern California in a community-based service role,” she said. “The rural aspect really appealed to me.”
George described her role at the research center in Hopland. “There’s one main community educator at Hopland Research Center who runs an entire year’s worth of field trip programming and oversees hundreds of students annually,” she said. That person, George said, sent more than 400 students through a variety of field trips.“I help improve and deliver those trips, plan next year’s programming, expand our public hiking program, and do outreach so the community better understands what happens at the research center. Without fellows, many of these programs simply couldn’t happen.”
Originally from Wisconsin, Maria Esser, is serving as a wildfire resilience fellow with the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council. “My role focuses on two different aspects,” said Esser. “I am working on a middle school fire science curriculum. We deliver fire science curriculum to schools from Fort Bragg inland. I am also looking at dense housing communities where fire resilience is a critical aspect to consider.”
In particular, Esser is researching fire danger in mobile home parks. “With the cooperation of park owners, we hope to develop strategies that can improve fire resilience. Mobile home parks are so vulnerable if they catch fire, both on the coast and inland in Mendocino County. I am hoping for the possibility of extending my service for a second year.”
Hennessy Jones serves as the Oak Regeneration and Education Fellow. “My work focuses on oak conservation,” Jones said. “I update GIS mapping for research projects, organize monthly volunteer workdays with the Quercus Collaborative, and lead education programs. I teach an after-school oak ecology program at Channel Valley and am developing high school programming as well. My role blends research, education, and outreach.” Jones, who also graduated from UC Berkeley, said the fellowship provides a meaningful bridge into professional work.
“I wanted something community-focused that would help with the transition into full-time work. GrizzlyCorps really supports recent graduates in that way. This position is a great blend of my interests,” she said.
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, two GrizzlyCorps fellows, George and Esser, headed to Fort Bragg Middle School in Fort Bragg for a presentation to students in Tracy Perryman’s Life Science class. Students buzzed with excitement as they filed in for the program, which was led by Hannah Bird, community educator at the Hopland center; Emily Lord, a former GrizzlyCorps fellow now working as the beneficial fire and education coordinator for the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council; and current fellows Evelyn George and Maria Esser.
Students were given worksheets to complete, after which they listened as the team delivered a short presentation on fire science and screened a documentary film exploring the groundbreaking fire management partnership between the State of California and tribal communities, featuring the Yurok and the Hoopa Valley tribes.
The film illustrated how tribal knowledge and state policy are coming together with local landowners to use prescribed burns as a tool for restoring healthy landscapes, preventing catastrophic wildfires, and strengthening long-term ecosystem resilience.
Elola addressed the broader implications of programs such as GrizzlyCorps.
“If funding for service programs is reduced, it directly impacts education, conservation, and workforce development — especially in places that already operate with limited resources,” she said.
