Community Wildfire Defense Grant 2024 (FY25) Tribes | USDA FS 2024 CWDG TRIBES

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FS 2024 CWDG TRIBES

The Community Wildfire Defense Grant 2024 (FY25) Tribes opportunity is a discretionary grant program run by the USDA Forest Service (Funding Opportunity Number: USDA FS 2024 CWDG TRIBES; CFDA 10.720). Its core purpose is to help at-risk local communities and Indian Tribes reduce wildfire risk through better planning and on-the-ground mitigation, especially in places where wildfire threatens people, homes, critical infrastructure, and community resources. The application instructions are contained in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), and applications are submitted through the dedicated portal at cwdg.forestrygrants.org.

This program is designed to prioritize communities facing the greatest need under criteria established in the authorizing law. Priority consideration goes to at-risk communities that are located in areas identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, that are low-income, and/or that have been impacted by a severe disaster. The NOFOs provide the detailed definitions and documentation expectations for these priority categories, but the overall intent is to steer funding toward communities where wildfire exposure and social or economic vulnerability overlap, or where recent disasters have made risk reduction especially urgent.

The grant is closely aligned with the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy and is meant to help communities in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) advance the strategy's three big goals. First, it supports efforts to restore and maintain landscapes so they are more resilient to wildfire and other stressors like insects, disease, invasive species, and climate-driven disturbances, even when the relevant land crosses jurisdictional boundaries. Second, it supports creating fire-adapted communities so residents, local institutions, and infrastructure are as prepared as possible to withstand wildfire impacts and to recover afterward. Third, it supports improving wildfire response by strengthening risk-based decision-making and coordination across jurisdictions so that response is safer, more effective, and more efficient.

Funding under this opportunity generally falls into two main project types. One is the development or revision of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), which is the foundational planning document many communities use to identify local wildfire risks, set priorities, and coordinate across partners. The second is the implementation of projects that are already described in a CWPP, as long as the CWPP is less than ten years old. In practice, this means applicants can seek support either to create or update the plan itself, or to carry out the specific mitigation and preparedness actions the plan calls for.

The program is authorized by Public Law 117-58, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). For this specific funding opportunity listing, the maximum award amount (ceiling) is $10,000,000, and the Forest Service anticipates making about 100 awards. The original closing date for applications is February 28, 2025.

Eligibility is broad and includes federally recognized Tribal governments and other Native American tribal organizations, along with many common local and public partners that often collaborate with Tribes and communities on wildfire resilience work. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education institutions); and Tribal entities as noted above. The funding activity focus is listed under Disaster Prevention and Relief and Natural Resources, reflecting the program's emphasis on preventing catastrophic wildfire impacts and improving long-term landscape and community resilience.

To support applicants, the Forest Service scheduled applicant webinars for Round 3. While the application process is the same across regions and applicant types, one session is tailored toward Tribal applicants with additional Tribal-focused Q and A. The webinars are scheduled for Monday, December 2 (2:00 to 4:00 pm Eastern), Wednesday, December 4 (12:30 to 2:30 pm Eastern, Tribal focused), and Friday, December 6 (2:00 to 4:00 pm Eastern), each with its own registration link. Recordings are expected to be posted on the Forest Service CWDG website after the live sessions for those who cannot attend. The agency also plans to offer periodic applicant "office hours" during the application window, with dates and times posted on the CWDG website, to give applicants an additional way to ask questions and strengthen submissions before the deadline.

• The Forest Service in the disaster prevention and relief, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Community Wildfire Defense Grant 2024 (FY25) Tribes" 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 2024-11-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-28. (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 100 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 2024 CWDG TRIBES

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