Montana DNRC: Hazardous Fuels Reduction Grant Program

The Montana DNRC Hazardous Fuels Reduction Grant Program aims to mitigate the risk of wildland fires and protect communities in high-priority areas adjacent to National Forest System lands. Funded by USFS resources, this program supports projects that reduce hazardous fuels through various methods like thinning and burning. Eligible applicants include non-profits, local governments, and tribal entities. Projects must align geographically and be initiated within three years of planned USFS treatments, ensuring community safety and environmental stewardship.

NOTE: Proposals accepted on an on-going basis and reviewed quarterly by a designated panel when funding is available.
Goals & Objectives
The Hazardous Fuels Reduction Grant focuses on reducing the risk of wildland fire and catastrophic losses to resources and property in high-priority areas; which may result from a wildland fire encroaching from adjacent National Forest System (NFS) lands.
Source-funding is USFS State, Private, and Tribal Forestry dollars which are for work on nonfederal lands to protect communities when hazardous fuels reduction activities are planned on adjacent USFS lands. This is accomplished by reducing the volume of hazardous fuels within a defined project area; through thinning, pruning, slash disposal, pile burning, and other conventionally accepted methods of fuels reduction. Public education and outreach about risks and responsibilities of living in the wildland urban interface (WUI) may be carried out in support of the primary goal of reducing hazardous fuels.
Criteria
Projects funded under this program must meeting the following intent:
Protect communities within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) when prescribed fire is planned on USFS lands that have the potential to place WUI communities at risk. Projects shall be located within an average fire weather single-day burn window of USFS treatments units; generally interpreted to be 3-5 miles in western and central Montana and 10 miles in eastern Montana, subject to forest conditions.Occur within a specific geographic boundary, aligning treatments across neighboring properties to maximize benefits of project activities.Project initiation must be in advance and within three years of planned hazardous fuels reduction activities on adjacent USFS lands.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants: Non-profitsPrivate Land OwnersLocal governmentsTribal governmentsConservation districtsState AgenciesColleges and UniversitiesCollaborative Groups