Community Wildfire Defense Grant 2022 Northeast-Midwest | USDA FS 2022 CWDG NEMW

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FS 2022 CWDG NEMW

The Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) 2022 Northeast-Midwest is a discretionary grant program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (Funding Opportunity Number: USDA FS 2022 CWDG NEMW; CFDA/Assistance Listing: 10.720). Its central aim is to help at-risk local communities and Indian Tribes plan for and reduce wildfire risk, especially in places where wildfire threatens homes, infrastructure, and critical community resources. The program is designed for communities in or near the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where development meets or intermixes with flammable vegetation and where wildfire impacts can be especially severe.

A key feature of this opportunity is its statutory emphasis on prioritizing communities facing the greatest challenges. The authorizing law directs attention to communities that fall into one or more priority categories: (1) communities located in areas identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, (2) communities that are low-income, and/or (3) communities that have been impacted by a severe disaster. The details on how these priorities are defined and applied are described in the program's Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs), but the overarching idea is that funding should flow first to places where risk and vulnerability overlap and where resources to prepare and recover may be limited.

The grant supports work that advances the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. First, it supports efforts to restore and maintain resilient landscapes across jurisdictions so forests, grasslands, and other ecosystems can better withstand fire-related disturbances while still meeting land management objectives. Second, it promotes the creation of fire-adapted communities, meaning communities where residents, buildings, and infrastructure are better prepared to endure wildfire with fewer losses to life and property. Third, it seeks to improve wildfire response by encouraging coordinated, risk-based decision-making among all relevant jurisdictions, with an emphasis on safe, effective, and efficient wildfire management.

Funding through this opportunity is organized around two main project types. One eligible use is the development of new Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) or the revision of existing CWPPs, recognizing that many communities either lack a plan or need to update older plans to reflect current conditions, fuels, development patterns, and response capacity. The second eligible use is implementation of projects that are already described in a CWPP, as long as that CWPP is less than ten years old. In practice, that means communities with a relatively current plan can seek funding to move from planning into on-the-ground risk reduction and readiness activities aligned with their locally identified priorities.

Eligible applicants are broad and include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other tribal organizations; and nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding higher education institutions). This range of eligible entities is intended to match the reality that wildfire mitigation often requires collaboration among local governments, tribes, emergency management partners, community organizations, and technical institutions.

This round of funding was created on July 27, 2022, with an original application closing date of October 7, 2022. The opportunity anticipated approximately 150 awards, with an award ceiling of $10,000,000 per award. The program is authorized under Public Law 117-58, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, widely known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which provides significant federal investment in risk reduction, resilience, and mitigation activities, including those addressing wildfire hazards.

• The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service in the disaster prevention and relief, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Community Wildfire Defense Grant 2022 Northeast-Midwest" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.720.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 27, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 07, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 150 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for USDA FS 2022 CWDG NEMW

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