Deadline: 10-Oct-24
The Colorado Legislature is accepting applications for the Forest Restoration & Wildfire Risk Mitigation (FRWRM) Grant Program.
The Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation (FRWRM) Grant Program, administered by the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS). This competitive cost-share grant program is designed to assist with funding community-level actions across the state to reduce the risk of wildfire to people, property, and infrastructure in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), while encouraging forest health and restoration projects and promoting the utilization of woody material for traditional forest products and biomass energy.
Funding Information
- The CSFS estimates that approximately $7.2 million is available for the 2024-2025 grant cycle. The CSFS reserves the right to award full or partial funding to successful applicants.
Eligible Projects
- Two types of projects are eligible for funding: 1) Fuels & Forest Health and 2) Capacity Building. Separate applications must be submitted for the two project types. Projects may be located on one or more ownership types. Projects that include federal lands must maintain continuity (within 1-mile) across a landscape including federal lands, and the total federal acres must be less than the combined total of non-federal acres. All grant funds must be used on lands within the state of Colorado.
- Fuels & Forest Health Projects
- Fuels & forest health projects must strategically reduce the potential risk for damage to property, infrastructure, water supplies and other high-valued assets as a result of wildfire and/or limit the probability of wildfires spreading into populated areas. Projects must promote forest health through scientifically based forestry practices that restore ecosystem functions, structures and species composition.
- Fuels & Forest Health Projects must meet the following criteria:
- Reduce Hazardous Fuels
- Successful projects will facilitate and implement strategic fuels treatment at a meaningful scale in Colorado WUI areas at risk of wildfire. All projects should be designed to reduce the potential wildfire risk to property, infrastructure, water supplies and other high-value assets, and/or limit the probability of wildfires spreading into populated areas. Projects must include a plan to utilize saleable woody materials where applicable, as well as a plan to remove and dispose of slash and non-merchantable materials generated from project work. Successful applicants will consider all elements required to implement treatments on the ground, including acquiring necessary permits and consultations from forestry and/or wildfire experts.
- Examples of qualifying project elements
- Creation or maintenance of defensible space around homes and structures based on current CSFS defensible space guidelines
- Creation or maintenance of fuelbreaks based on current CSFS fuelbreak guidelines
- Fuels reduction by various appropriate methods, including mechanical thinning, prescribed fire and others, designed to protect water supplies and/or reduce potential fire intensity
- Removal of saleable woody materials with specific utilization plans
- Removal/disposal of slash and non-merchantable materials using methods such as chipping, mulching, grinding, pile burning, broadcast burning or mechanical removal
- Promote Forest Health
- Projects should incorporate forest restoration and management techniques, based on current science applicable to the forest type(s) being treated. Proposals should include existing ecological conditions and desired future conditions for project areas. Existing ecological conditions relevant to this grant program may include highly erodible soils on slopes that may affect water quality, over-stocked forests that increase wildfire risk, stands of unhealthy trees, reduced water yields, and low species and structural diversity. The desired future conditions should promote the healthy function, structure and composition of essential ecosystem components. Essential ecosystem components may include tree age and size class diversity, tree species diversity, desired forest cover and tree density in relation to water quality and quantity and wildfire risk, and water quality associated with soil erosion.
- Examples of qualifying project elements
- Reducing fuel loads and excessive competition among trees
- Restoring ecosystem function, structure and species composition, including through the reduction of non-native and/or invasive species populations
- Preserving older and larger trees to restore ecosystem function or for ecological value, based on scientific research
- Replanting trees in deforested areas that have been negatively affected by wildfire, insects and disease, or other large-scale disturbance.
- Reduce Hazardous Fuels
- Capacity Building
- Capacity building projects must increase community capacity by providing the community with the resources and staffing necessary to plan and implement forest restoration and wildfire risk mitigation projects. Capacity grants will be limited to 25% of the total available grant funds.
- Successful applicants will describe how funding will support capacity expansion to plan and implement forest restoration and wildfire risk mitigation projects including community and partner outreach and engagement, identifying priority project areas, prescription planning and acquiring community equipment that will address unmet implementation needs at the local level. Capacity grant applications should clearly describe how the capacity building efforts will be sustained to promote implementation of treatments beyond the life of the initial project. Capacity building projects that include equipment purchases should address applicable training and safety measures for the use of equipment. The expectation is that equipment will be used and maintained by the awardee for a minimum of five years following the grant.
- Examples of qualifying project elements
- The purchase and use of equipment for implementation of hazardous fuels reduction treatments, including the removal and utilization of slash and/or other woody biomass (e.g., purchasing a wood chipper to be made available to communities)
- Outreach efforts to plan forest restoration and wildfire risk mitigation projects, including project prioritization and project prescription development
- Increased staffing or related capacity building for collaborative and/or community groups that support planning and implementation of forest restoration and wildfire risk mitigation projects
- Examples of FRWRM project elements that do not qualify
- Capacity building for fire preparedness and suppression (e.g., the purchase of fire department equipment)
- Education and outreach efforts that do not directly lead to fuels reduction
- Construction of permanent infrastructure (e.g., of buildings or roads)
- Local, state or federal policy development or advocacy
- Projects undertaken by and benefitting only one individual
- Fuels & Forest Health Projects
Eligibility Criteria
- All proposals must benefit more than one individual and have a goal of reducing the risk of wildfire to people, property and infrastructure in the WUI and therefore projects must be located within, or within close proximity to, the WUI as defined in the Colorado Forest Atlas WUI Map Layer. For capacity-building projects, the primary proposed efforts that will occur from using grant funds must occur within or within close proximity to the WUI. The following individuals, organizations or entities may apply:
- Local community groups such as homeowner, neighborhood or property associations;
- Local government entities including counties, municipalities, fire protection districts and other special districts;
- Public or private utilities, including water providers;
- State agencies; and
- Non-profit groups.
- In addition, all applicants must:
- Be able to function as the fiscal agent and have legal authority to administer and/or implement treatments on proposed project area(s);
- Confirm that participating landowner(s) agree to reporting and monitoring requirements;
- Comply with all applicable federal and state environmental laws.
For more information, visit Colorado State Forest Service.