The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced a new $1 billion program to boost protection and response against wildfires in at-risk communities.
The Community Wildfire Defense Grant program is a five-year competitive program designed to assist Tribal communities, nonprofit organizations, state forestry agencies and Alaska Native corporations plan for and address wildfire risks; a recent USDA press release said. Funding for the program is provided through President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“These investments are crucial to tackling the wildfire crisis, climate change and public safety,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said at the Western Governors' Association's 2022 annual meeting, quoted in the press release. “President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is giving us new resources and tools to invest in communities in the areas where they live and the forests they value.”
Through the program, grants of up to $250,000 will be issued for stakeholders to create and update community wildfire protection plans and for outreach and education, and grants of up to $10 million will be available for associated infrastructure and resilience projects; the release said. Projects must be completed within five years of receiving grant funding. Funding for the program is capped at $200 million annually for the next five years, and the number of grants awarded will be determined by available funding.
“Insight and guidance from the communities most at risk for catastrophic wildfires helps us mitigate those risks more effectively,” Forest Service Chief Randy Moore said in the release. “We need a collaborative effort at all levels to ensure the success of this critical national effort.”
Applications for funding will be issued within the coming days.
