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Grants to USA Nonprofits, Agencies, and Tribes for Programs and Projects to Reduce Risks Associated with Natural Disasters

Community Wildfire Defense Grant - Tribes


Agency
Federal

GrantWatch ID#
205071

Funding Source
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
CFDA Number: 10.720
Funding or PIN Number: USDA-FS-2023-CWDG-TRIBES
Array ( [0] => American Samoa (USA); [1] => Guam (USA); [2] => Puerto Rico (USA); [3] => Virgin Islands (USA); [4] => Northern Mariana Islands (USA); )

Geographic Focus
All USA
USA Territories: American Samoa (USA);   Guam (USA);   Puerto Rico (USA);   Virgin Islands (USA);   Northern Mariana Islands (USA);
USA Compact Free Associations:The Federated States of Micronesia (USA)   Marshall Islands (USA)   Republic of Palau (USA)

Important Dates
Deadline: 10/31/23 11:59 PM ET Save

Grant Description
Grants to USA and territories nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and tribes for programs and projects to reduce risks associated with natural disasters. Applicants are advised that required registrations may take up to several weeks to complete. Priority will be given to projects that benefit at-risk communities, low-income communities, and areas that have been previously impacted by a severe disaster.

The purpose of the Community Wildfire Defense Grant is to assist at-risk local communities and Indian Tribes with planning for and mitigating against the risk created by wildfire. This program is authorized in Public Law 117-58, ‘‘An Act to authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes,’’ commonly referred to as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Specifically, the CWDG is provided for in Title VIII, Section 40803 of that Act. There are two primary project types for which the grant provides funding: The development and revising of Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP), and the implementation of projects described in a CWPP that is less than ten years old. The Act prioritizes at-risk communities that are in an area identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, are low-income, and/or have been impacted by a severe disaster.

The CWDG helps communities in the wildland urban interface (WUI) implement the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (Cohesive Strategy):

  • Resilient Landscapes: Landscapes, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries, are resilient to fire, insect, disease, invasive species, and climate change disturbances, in accordance with management objectives.
  • Fire Adapted Communities: Human populations and infrastructure are as prepared as possible to receive, respond to, and recover from wildland fire.
  • Safe, Effective, Risk-based Wildfire Response: All jurisdictions participate in making and implementing safe, effective, efficient risk-based wildfire management decisions.

Eligible applicants may apply for grant funding for a project proposal to be conducted on lands with the following ownership types, provided the project proposal directly reduces wildfire risk to a community:

a. Private lands,

b. Local governments,

c. Homeowner associations,

d. State government, and

e. Tribal/Alaska native corporation (includes Trust lands)

Applicants will have the responsibility to indicate on the application if they meet any or all of the three priorities. The applicant will also need to provide supporting documentation or a link to such documentation for each priority that is checked. Priority will be given to project proposals that:

  • Are located in an area identified as having a high or very high wildfire hazard potential;
  • Benefit a low-income community; or
  • Are located in a community impacted by a severe disaster within the previous 10 years. 

For more information on eligible projects, see Page 6 of the RFP document listed in Supporting Documents, below.



Recipient

Eligibility
  • Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
  • Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)

Additional Eligibility Criteria
Entities eligible to apply for funding under the CWDG include:
a. Units of local governments representing communities located in an area with a risk of wildfires,
b. Indian Tribes (please apply through either the Indian Tribes/Alaska Native Corporations specific notice or the applicable regional notice),
c. Non-profit organizations including homeowner associations that assist such communities,
d. State forestry agencies (including U.S. territories and interests), and
e. Alaska Native Corporations (please apply through either the Indian Tribes/Alaska Native Corporations specific notice or the applicable regional notice).

Ineligible
For-profit entities are not eligible to apply for this funding opportunity.

For information about ineligible projects, see Page 6 of the RFP document listed in Supporting Documents, below.

Pre-Proposal Conference
Applicant Webinars for CWDG Round 2 have been scheduled as follows. The application process in Round 2 is the same for all applicants (versus Round 1 where there were different processes for different regions), and any applicant in any region, area, or Tribe may attend any webinar, they will all have the same content, however, the August 10 Webinar will be more focused on Tribal applications and Q&A.

To attend a webinar, please register in advance by clicking on the link following each date:

August 4, 2pm-4pm Eastern: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DOtCNZHVRym3gFKdzYlLUg

August 9, 2pm-4pm Eastern: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Q-NLfp_HRR2zWoOQZgMprw

August 10, 2pm-4pm Eastern: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yxe-tURVSqqKl7EMJ5zOmQ

August 15, 2pm-4pm Eastern: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8XdtEXfHSYyk_XxdkOeGgA

Webinar recordings will be made available soon after the webinars for those unable to attend one of the live offerings, check back on this website for more information.

Pre-Application Information
Submit all applications by 11:59 pm, Eastern Time Zone, October 31, 2023

The CWDG program has differing levels of match dependent upon the proposal for which is being applied. For proposals to develop or update a CWPP, the required match is 10%. For proposals to implement projects described within a CWPP, the required match is 25%. Matching funds must be derived entirely from non-Federal sources (unless expressly authorized in law by the other federal program).

Applicants are strongly encouraged to reach out to the relevant State Forester and Forest Service Cooperative Fire Specialist during application development to ensure the project aligns with program purpose and eligibility and receive input to strengthen your application.

Organizations must have an active registration with the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), which will generate a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Applicants must also have a Grants.gov account to apply for grants. Creating a Grants.gov account can be completed online in minutes, but a SAM registration may take several weeks or more to complete. Therefore, ensure you apply for your SAM registration promptly.

View this opportunity on Grants.gov: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=349608

For a list of relevant application documents, see the Package tab (click Preview) on the link listed above.

FY23 CWDG Applicant Webinar recording - August 4, 2023: https://vimeo.com/851771021?share=copy

FY23 CWDG Applicant Webinar recording - August 9, 2023: https://vimeo.com/853174075?share=copy

Additional Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding:

$250,000,000

Number of Grants
75

Estimated Size of Grant
a. There is no minimum Federal funding limit for projects under CWDG.
b. The maximum amount of Federal funding awarded to any one community or Tribe via this competitive
process is:
• $250,000 for the creation or updating of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and
• $10 million for a project described within a Community Wildfire Protection Plan less than 10 years old

Term of Contract
Projects must be completed within five (5) years.

Contact Information
US Forest Service Washington Office Fire and Aviation Management Program Contact for CWDG:
• Cooperative Fire Branch: sm.fs.usfs_cwdg@usda.gov

US Forest Service Grants and Agreements (For application logistic questions such as assistance with standard forms or application mechanics):
• G&A Access Branch: accessga@usda.gov

Contacts by State and Territory:
Office of Tribal Relations
Heath Bailey, OTR Tribal Relations Specialist, robert.h.bailey@usda.gov ; 202-657-2656
Reed Robinson, OTR Director, reed.robinson@usda.gov
Tasha Caldwell, OTR Assistant Director, tasha.caldwell@usda.gov

RFP & Supporting Documents
Full Grant Text RFP

Before starting your grant application, please review the funding source's website listed below for updates / changes / addendums / conferences / LOIs.


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