Grants

There are many state and federal grant programs that provide funding to assist communities in wildland/urban interface areas in reducing their wildfire risk.

    To start the grant process, speak to your county’s disaster services coordinator or fire mitigation coordinator. Every county in Idaho has one. Click here for a list of disaster services coordinators.

    These individuals can assist you in determining what funding sources may be available and clarify application criteria for different grants. Many times, funds that are available for communities from different grant programs are administered at the county level.

    Often, there is a "match" requirement that is needed to be made by the community requesting the funds. Sometimes, this can be made as an "in-kind" effort, with persons providing a small amount of labor on a project. But when comparing these requirements against potential losses, it is a small price to pay as opposed to replacing your structures because of a wildland fire.

    According to the Idaho State Fire Plan Working Group, since 2001, over $48.5 million in assistance has been awarded to Idaho's county governments, fire-based emergency services entities, tribes, and non-profit organizations in order to support hazardous fuels reduction work, improve the readiness and capacity of local fire districts, develop community planning efforts in order to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire, and encourage economic uses for small-diameter woody biomass.

    The  Idaho State Fire Plan Working Group website provides a detailed listing of types of grants, assistance criteria, and timelines for submission. If you would like to see a community-based project for your neighborhood, starting with this website and working with your county officials is a great place to start.

     

    If the neighbors hadn’t worked together to secure the fuels reduction grant with the RC&D, we would have lost a lot of homes. And I know now that a little bit of effort in providing an in-kind match to the grant potentially saved me a few million dollars.

    Mike May
    Homeowner





    Grants in Action

    In 2003, Deer Creek residents worked to write a proposal to obtain fuels reduction dollars. The subsequent on-the-ground work helped prevent losses after a wildfire swept through the neighborhood in 2007.