Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced yesterday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is investing $1,590,004 in wildfire protection projects across Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, as part of the Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) program. The CWDG program is designed to assist communities, including Tribal communities, non-profit organizations, state forestry agencies and Alaska Native corporations with planning for and mitigating wildfire risks on tribal, state, and privately managed land.
This funding, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is a crucial investment to help communities confront the wildfire crisis and reduce wildfire risk on non-federal land. Proposals underwent a competitive selection process that included review panels made up of tribal representatives and state forestry agencies. Guidelines within the law prioritized at-risk communities that have been impacted by a severe disaster, are at a high or very high potential for wildfire hazard and are classified as low income.
“Projects were selected using a collaborative, inclusive process that engaged tribes and state forestry agencies,” said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. “All projects include at least two of the primary selection criteria mandated in the legislation. And in all cases, these projects are taking critical steps to protect homes, property, businesses, and people’s lives from catastrophic wildfires.”
The following projects in the Rocky Mountain Region were selected for the first-round funding:
- Colorado – Wildfire Adapted Partnership, Archuleta County Community Wildfire Protection Plan Implementation: $1,110,024 to treat 600 acres of hazardous fuels protecting 325 structures and reducing the overall risk of wildfire in the Wildland Urban Interface. This project will also reach a minimum of 5,000 individuals through its Firewise USA or similar activities through Wildfire Adapted Partnerships Neighborhood Ambassador Program, including presentations to Homeowner Associations and community groups, public events, and awareness campaigns.
- Nebraska – The Nature Conservancy, Reducing Wildfire Risk in North-Central Nebraska: $182,866 to reduce hazardous fuels and restore fire adapted ecosystems at the 56,000-acre Niobrara Valley Preserve. This will reduce the severity and impacts of wildfire in surrounding communities. The project spans three years and includes six target sites for a total of 435 acres. The Nature Conservancy will establish fire breaks, remove cedar trees and standing dead trees, and follow-up with prescribed fire.
- South Dakota – City of Mission, Mission Volunteer Fire Department Community Wildfire Defense Planning Project: $62,289 to create a Community Wildfire Protection Plan that assists the fire district with mitigating the risk against wildfires. As part of the planning process, the Volunteer Fire Department will also use grant funds to identify water sources to aid the plan implementation and other resources within the fire district.
- Wyoming – Crooked Creek Community Fuels Mitigation Project: $234,825 will be used to expand and connect other area treatments on a landscape-level. This will be accomplished by contracting activities to reduce fuel loads and restore forest health.
This initial round of investments will assist communities in developing Community Wildfire Protection Plans, key roadmaps for addressing wildfire risks locally, as well as fund immediate actions to lower the risk of wildfire on non-federal land for communities where a Community Wildfire Protection Plan is already in place.
“These grants will make it possible for underserved and at-risk communities to develop or revise community wildfire protection plans and implement community wildfire protection projects,” said Frank Beum, Regional Forester, “and we anticipate future funding to assist additional communities throughout the Rocky Mountain Region with much needed fire mitigation planning and implementation.”
The Forest Service will announce another round of funding later in 2023, and additional communities will be able to apply. The number of selected proposals in future rounds will depend on available funding.
Along with establishing the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides an historic $3.5 billion investment in wildfire management through a suite of programs aimed at reducing wildfire risks, detecting wildfires, instituting firefighter workforce reforms, and increasing pay for federal wildland firefighters. This announcement also comes on the heels of the president’s fiscal year 2024 budget, which proposes a permanent pay
solution for wildland firefighters, increased capacity for mental and physical health services, and funds for housing repair, renovation, and construction.
More information about the funded proposals, as well as announcements about the grant program, is available at the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program.
Grounded in world-class science and technology – and rooted in communities – the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service connects people to nature and each other. As a federal agency in service to the American people, the Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. In doing this, the agency supports nature in sustaining life. To learn more about the Forest Service, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov.