For communities that face a high risk of wildfires, additional money is being released from the Forest Service. Up to $250 million in Community Wildfire Defense grants for selected vulnerable areas is earmarked to be dispersed, with $5.3 million of the total going to the Northern Region.

“The Community Wildfire Defense Grants are just one of many ways we are helping communities adapt to larger, more complex and more frequent wildfires,” said Deputy Agriculture Secretary Xochitl Torres Small.

A total of four projects were funded in the Northern Region and all are in Montana. 

Among them is the Sanders County Community Wildfire Protection Plan Update and Modernization, a collaborative planning effort for the community to reduce their wildfire risk and build resiliency to the impacts of wildfires. 

The other projects in Montana are in Park County and Missoula.

Funding from the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program is designed to assist communities, including tribal nations, nonprofit organizations, and state forestry agencies with planning for and mitigating wildfire risks to communities and critical infrastructure to help confront the nation’s wildfire crisis. 

The funding supports developing or revising community wildfire protection plans, as well as completing projects that are identified in these plans. The program is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and includes $1 billion to reduce wildfire risk over five years.

“We are pleased to see the emphasis across a variety of rural communities in the Northern Region,” said Leanne Marten, Regional Forester, Northern Region. “Working with our local county, state, Tribal Nations and partners is vital to the work we do year-round, and Community Wildfire Protection Plans are an integral piece in helping communities implement the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy.” 

Further information is available at www.fs.usda.gov.