Hazardous Fuels Reduction Grant
Hazardous Fuels Reduction Grant supports Montana landowners and community partners in reducing hazardous fuels on non-federal lands to protect communities, resources, and property from wildfire.
Funder: Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
Due Dates: Rolling (proposals reviewed quarterly when funding is available)
Funding Amounts: Requests of $100,000 or less; non-federal match equal to 25% of grant funds requested
Summary: Supports hazardous fuels reduction on non-federal lands to protect communities, resources, and property from wildfire spreading from adjacent National Forest System lands.
Key Information: Projects must begin before, and within three years of, planned hazardous fuels reduction and prescribed burn activities on adjacent federal lands.
Description
The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) administers this grant to reduce wildland fire risk and catastrophic losses to resources and property in high-priority areas. Funding comes from USDA Forest Service State, Private, and Tribal Forestry dollars passed through DNRC for work on non-federal lands. The program connects community protection with active forest management on adjacent National Forest System lands, including planned prescribed fire.
Supported work reduces hazardous fuels within a defined project area through thinning, pruning, slash disposal, pile burning, and other conventionally accepted fuels reduction methods. Projects align treatments across neighboring properties to maximize benefits and protect communities in the wildland urban interface (WUI). Public education and outreach about the risks and responsibilities of living in the WUI may support the primary goal of hazardous fuels reduction.
