The Boulder County is excited to announce its Strategic Fuels Mitigation Grant Program.
Donor Name: Boulder County
State: Colorado
County: Boulder County (CO)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/11/2023
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Boulder County established the Strategic Fuels Mitigation Grant Program (SFMG) in 2023 after the successful passing of the wildfire mitigation ballot measure in November 2022. The purpose of these funds is to support:
- Strategic forest and grassland management projects to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire
- Protection of water supplies and resilient ecosystems
- Community partnerships and programs to help residents prepare for wildfires
Funding Information
There is a $2 million budget for the fall 2023 cycle. Of this amount, planning grants will be capped at $250,000. The county will fund to five (5) planning proposals at a maximum of $50,000 each.
Uses of funds
- Forest Fuels Mitigation Grants
- Creation or maintenance of fuel breaks
- 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
- The removal/disposal of slash and non-merchantable materials using methods such as chipping, mulching, grinding, pile burning, broadcast burning or mechanical removal
- Cross-boundary projects that may include private, local government, and federal lands
- Grassland Fuels Mitigation Grants
- Fuels reduction by various appropriate methods including mowing, grazing, or prescribed fire
- Mitigation on private lands as a multi-homeowner project (e.g., community/HOA common areas, privately owned green spaces/beltways)
- Local government open space management projects with the objectives of mitigating wildfire risks
- Ditch fuels reduction projects
- Cross-boundary projects that may include private, local government, and federal lands
- Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs)
- Updates to existing plans or development of new plans
Eligibility Criteria
- The following organizations may apply:
- Local government entities in Boulder County
- Private utilities, ditch companies, and water providers
- State agencies that own or manage land in Boulder County
- Homeowners Associations
- Non-profit organizations
- In addition, applicants must:
- Be able to function as the fiscal agent and have legal authority to administer and/or implement treatments in the proposed project area(s).
- Confirm that participating landowner(s) agree to the project’s scope of work and grant’s reporting and monitoring requirements.
Additional Grant Program Criteria
- Proposed projects must be strategic in nature to maximize the effectiveness of this grant program. Strategic proposals should include elements such as:
- Implementation across land ownership boundaries.
- Location within or adjacent to high priority areas, which must be identified in at least one or more of the following: The Boulder County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), local fire protection district or community level CWPP, local hazard mitigation plan, forest management plan (e.g., Forest Agriculture Plan, NRCS Conservation Planning Activities plan) or Wildfire Ready Watershed action plan.
- Identification as a high-risk area on a current wildfire risk map.
- Location within the Boulder County Fireshed Focus Area Map or adjacent to Potential Operational Delineation (POD) mapped areas.
- Identified in a planned project footprint (e.g., St.Vrain Forest Health Project area).
- Part of a larger, landscape-scale treatment effort or a multi-landowner, community- wide project.
- Geographic proximity to public or private lands that have been treated or are planned for treatment.
- Local Coordination and Consultation
- Applicants must demonstrate that they have coordinated their project development with relevant wildfire or forestry experts. Coordination should be with one or more of the following: Boulder County Wildfire Forest and Grassland Project Coordinator or a forester from Boulder County Parks and Open Space, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, or the Colorado State Forest Service, Boulder Field Office.
- Applicants are required to schedule a pre-project site visit with the Boulder County Wildfire Forest and Grassland Project Coordinator and/or identified expert(s), as defined above. All grant applications must also include a letter of support from the consulting forester and/or the Boulder County Wildfire Team Forest and Grasslands Project Coordinator.
- Shared and Leveraged Resources
- Projects (fuels and planning) shall leverage resources (i.e., expertise, staffing and additional financial resources when possible) to maximize effectiveness and efficiency.
- Local Measures to Reduce Wildfire Risk
- Preference will be given to applicants who demonstrate efforts that incorporate local programs or approaches that help reduce wildfire risks to people, property, and infrastructure.
- Examples of Local Measures
- Coordination with individuals and communities participating in the Boulder County Wildfire Partners Program
- Participation in the Firewise USA® Program and/or Neighborhood Ambassador Program
- Adoption and implementation of Fire Adapted Community concepts
- Demonstration of ongoing wildfire outreach and education efforts
- Participation in existing slash or mulch collection or chipping programs
- Adoption of, or plans to adopt, county or local building codes for wildfire mitigation
- Protection of Water Supplies:
- Forest treatments that help protect water supplies will be given greater preference.
For more information, visit Boulder County.
