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Nearly $200 million in grants awarded to reduce risk of wildfires

The Biden administration has announced nearly $200 million in grant funding to reduce wildfire risks.

Vice-President Kamala Harris says the funding will support 100 projects in 22 states and on 7 tribal lands.  “We used to talk about wildfire season, now wildfire season is all year round,” she says.  “Over the past 30 years, the number of acres burned per year by wildfire, has more than doubled.”  Funding was issued through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says these grants will ensure that local and tribal communities will have the tools needed to keep communities safe.  “We’re now able to work at scale to better manage our national treasure,” he says.  “Mitigate the risk of catastrophic wildfires and protect life and property.”

Vilsack says the President’s budget for Fiscal Year 2024 also includes significant funding increases for wildland fire and hazardous fuels management.

Grants in BF states:

Minnesota:
Nearly $900,000 was made available to fire departments, lake & road associations and township boards in the highest wildfire risk areas in St. Louis County to increase wildfire awareness, reduce fuels and provide opportunities to help their communities be more wildfire resilient. The resulting collaboration will yield 20 hazardous fuels mitigations project for a combined 225 acres over the next 5-year period.

Nebraska
More than $180,000 was awarded to The Nature Conservancy to help reduce wildfire risks in north-central Nebraska.  The Nature Conservancy will establish 200 feet wide fire breaks with the objective of removing all cedar trees, any standing dead trees at these sites, and will follow-up with prescribed fire.

South Dakota
More than $62,000 was awarded to the city of Mission to create a Community Wildfire Protection Plan that focuses on the planning required to assist the fire department in mitigating the risk against wildfires.  As part of the planning process, the Volunteer Fire Department will also use grant funds to identify water sources that can greatly aid the CWPP implementation, is part of naming all vulnerabilities, and resources within the fire district.

Wisconsin
The town of Conover was awarded $470,000 to mitigate the risk of future wildfires.  The town will create fuel breaks between forested and residential areas.  Many of the high danger areas are a result from highly flammable trees that have been left behind after harvesting operations.

The town of Washington will receive nearly $250,000 to enhance and expand the town’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan.  Funds will be used to improve planning efforts and implement vegetation management on town rights-of-ways to reduce hazardous fuels and mitigate fire danger by supporting the town’s brush site through annual chipping.