Acknowledge and respect cultural differences – Local governments and organizations should intentionally integrate cultural diversity across the region into engagement processes, ensuring differences are recognized as assets rather than barriers.

Regional governance coordination – Establish structures that include local governments and CBOs at the table with state and regional agencies to reduce siloed communication

Reform engagement rules – Require early and authentic engagement (not check-box participation) in permitting and planning processes

Advance Cross-border inclusion and collaboration –  Strengthen partnerships across the San Diego–Baja region by supporting Kumeyaay artisans and cross-cultural initiatives that connect climate, culture, and economic resilience, while ensuring meaningful inclusion of binational Kumeyaay communities and immigrant/refugee groups who are often left out despite being directly impacted.

Integrate Indigenous leadership and TEK – Ensure tribal leaders and TEK guide planning processes, not just serve as symbolic input

Videos around narrative success stories to highlighting success focused on storytelling, communications capacity is critical.

Bioregional and collaborative planning approaches – Support coalitions such as the Wellspring Consortium, which focus on bioregional strategies and convergence planning to address climate crises across ecological and cultural boundaries.

Integration of Indigenous knowledge into planning – Use tribal climate reports and TEK as a foundation for state and local climate planning, ensuring Indigenous perspectives shape resilience strategies and protections.

Co-stewardship of public lands – Establish partnerships that grant Indigenous communities access to preserved areas for cultural practices, plant gathering, and ecological stewardship.

Capacity-building for authentic engagement – Provide training and resources (e.g., meaningful engagement website) to help local staff, CBOs, and tribal partners learn how to engage communities effectively and become strong, trusted partners.

Resident empowerment and training programs – Train residents in traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), blue-green infrastructure, and resilience planning, enabling them to design neighborhood-scale climate concept plans and lead local adaptation work.

Multilingual cultural signage and recognition – Expand use of projects like Hear Our Names, which place signage in Indigenous and immigrant languages (e.g., Kumeyaay, Korean, Hashem, Spanish, English) to strengthen cultural connection and inclusivity in public spaces.

Integrate Indigenous leadership and TEK – Mandate that Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and tribal leadership guide state planning processes, ensuring Indigenous knowledge is not siloed or extracted without context.

Mandate early and authentic engagement – Require that tribal, immigrant, and marginalized communities be included at the beginning of planning and regulatory processes, not as late-stage check-box consultation.

Develop formal tribal advisory groups – Institutionalize tribal advisory bodies that directly inform state climate and energy policy, ensuring Indigenous leadership is embedded in decision-making.

Create opportunities for tribal youth – Establish programs that provide tribal youth with pathways to leadership, including internships, fellowships, and authorship on state reports to build experience and recognition.

Create tribal-led grant programs – Expand programs modeled after tribal research grant funds, which provide tribes with resources to define their own climate priorities rather than being directed solely by the state.

Fund authentic relationship-building – Recognize relationship-building as essential work that requires sustained funding, not as an unfunded prerequisite for grant eligibility.

Invest in community-embedded organizations – Direct funding to local CBOs and tribal organizations that are already deeply embedded in their communities and understand local needs, instead of over-relying on external consultants or one-off contracts.

Provide resources for equitable engagement – Fund translation, childcare, food, and meeting support so marginalized communities can fully participate

Sustained funding for CBOs and tribes – Compensate and support community-based organizations and tribal groups so they can participate fully in planning and program delivery without being overburdened or financially strained.

Partnership with trusted navigators – Work with local trusted organizations and CBOs that already have credibility with residents, ensuring engagement is not extractive but rooted in long-term relationships.

Cross-boundary collaboration – Engage land managers, agencies, NGOs, and residents in shared resilience planning for wildfire and related climate risks

Locals should invest time in developing easily navigable checklists for various interactions between public and city processes

Trusted navigators for resilience programs – Partner with local CBOs and tribal groups to connect residents with resilience resources, avoiding top-down rollouts

Locals should leverage artificial intelligence / Generative AI to run applications (ex: solar) and find ways to expand these streamlined efforts to other areas beyond solar.

Implement energy efficiency upgrades alongside renewable generation

Develop fire safety codes and guidelines for battery storage installations

Community-driven monitoring – Strengthen air quality and outage monitoring at neighborhood level to align response strategies with lived community experience

Ensure batteries are properly sized for backup needs

Establish community resilience centers that function both during emergencies and year-round

Pair solar installations with battery storage to address time-of-use pricing and grid reliability

Transmission hardening & modernization – Investment in upgrading aging infrastructure to withstand wildfire and extreme climate impacts was identified as critical

Utility accountability for resilience – Reform utility incentive structures so they are rewarded for investing in distributed resilience solutions (e.g., microgrids, distributed storage) instead of only centralized infrastructure

Fund equitable resilience programs – State programs should expand targeted funding for rural, tribal, and unincorporated communities, recognizing disproportionate exposure

Regional collaboration on interconnection – Small agencies and tribal entities called for regional governance structures to coordinate with CPUC and utilities, reducing delays and gaps in energization planning

Distributed generation and microgrids – Local communities have pursued solar, battery, and microgrid projects to bypass long utility interconnection queues, though high upfront costs and restrictive rules remain obstacles

Community partnerships for resilience – Partner with tribal governments and trusted CBOs to connect households in rural/tribal areas with interim resilience solutions while waiting for utility grid connection

Incentivize distributed solutions – State should ensure utilities are financially rewarded for distributed resilience projects (microgrids, community solar, storage), not just centralized assets

Set stricter utility timelines – Stakeholders flagged that utilities have no incentive to accelerate interconnection, and called for regulations establishing firm deadlines and accountability

Infrastructure upgrades – State-level investment in modernizing distribution lines in rural and tribal regions to improve reliability and reduce wait times

Fund grid connections in rural/tribal areas – Provide targeted state subsidies to reduce extreme costs of rural electrification, which can reach $400,000 per home in some tribal territories

Technical support for small jurisdictions – Offer state-funded staffing and technical capacity to help small agencies and tribes navigate interconnection applications

Regional coordination – Call for regional governance tables to manage overlapping wildfire, water, and land-use responsibilities, reducing siloed approaches

Integrate wildfire into CAPs and local planning – Local governments suggested more robust integration of wildfire adaptation into climate action plans and regional governance structures

Resident empowerment in resilience – Training programs that incorporate traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) into wildfire resilience planning were cited as effective for community readiness

Upgrade local infrastructure – Local governments noted the need to adapt stormwater, hydrology, and other protective infrastructure to account for wildfire-driven erosion, flooding, and debris flow risks

Expand distributed resilience projects – Promote localized microgrids, battery storage, and water system improvements to ensure communities can withstand wildfire-related outages and infrastructure strain

Support tribal and rural resilience programs – Target state resilience funding toward tribal and unincorporated communities most at risk from wildfire and infrastructure failures

Update design standards – Revise statewide building and infrastructure codes to reflect wildfire-driven hydrology and resilience requirements

Reduce governance silos – Create regional governance structures to align natural and working lands management across jurisdictions and reduce fragmentation.

Create Indigenous-led spaces and programs – Support the development of tribal-led farms, cultural spaces, and land-based programs that reconnect Indigenous peoples with their land and strengthen ecological stewardship.

Integrate TEK into planning – Use Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and tribal climate reports as guiding frameworks for ecosystem and land-use decisions.

Urban food and water systems – Transform vacant urban land into community gardens, food forests, and water systems that expand access to healthy food and ecological resilience in cities.

Localized water infrastructure – Develop community-based water systems to reduce dependence on centralized infrastructure and strengthen resilience in rural and tribal areas.

Partnerships among tribal economic development corporations – Build stronger collaboration between tribal economic development agencies to pool resources and leverage opportunities for sustainable land and food systems.

Community storytelling and cultural education – Support Indigenous-led storytelling, theater, and art projects that connect cultural identity to ecological stewardship and natural systems.

Nature-based adaptation measures – Some communities are piloting dunes and other natural infrastructure for coastal protection, though these remain experimental

Co-stewardship of public lands – Establish partnerships that grant Indigenous communities access to preserved areas for cultural practices, plant gathering, and ecological stewardship.

Resident empowerment and training – Train community members in traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), green infrastructure, and resilience planning so they can design neighborhood-scale climate and land stewardship projects.

Invest in rural water and land infrastructure – State investment in resilient water systems and agricultural infrastructure to sustain farming in tribal and rural lands

Embed Indigenous leadership – Require tribal advisory groups and TEK integration into state-level ecosystem and farming policy

Update agricultural and water policy – Recognize climate-driven constraints (heat, water scarcity) on farming and update regulatory frameworks to support long-term food security

Fund tribal-led land stewardship – Expand tribal grant programs that allow tribes to define their own natural and working lands priorities

Support experimental adaptation – State should extend funding for pilot projects (e.g., dune restoration, regenerative agriculture) with multi-year monitoring to measure resilience benefits