Community Wildfire Defense Grant
   

Last update: 11/26/2024

What is the Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG)?

The Community Wildfire Defense Program, or CWDG, is intended to help at-risk local communities and Tribes; plan for and reduce the risk of wildfire. This program, which was authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, prioritizes at-risk communities in an area identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, are low-income, or have been impacted by a severe disaster that affects the risk of wildfire. Applications for CWDG Round 3 will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 28, 2025.
 
The program provides funding to communities for two primary purposes: 
  • Develop and revise Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP). 
  • Implement projects described in a Community Wildfire Protection Plan that is less than ten years old. 
The Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program also helps communities in the wildland urban interface (WUI) implement the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. 
  • Restore and Maintain Landscapes: Landscapes across all jurisdictions are resilient to fire-related disturbances, in accordance with management objectives. 
  • Create Fire Adapted Communities: Human populations and infrastructure can better withstand a wildfire without loss of life and property.  
  • Improve Wildfire Response: All jurisdictions participate in making and implementing safe, effective, efficient risk-based wildfire management decisions. 

What does the CWDG fund?

There are three types of projects for which the grant provides funding:
  • The development of Community Wildfire Protection Plans
  • The updating of Community Wildfire Protection Plans
  • The implementation of projects described in a Community Wildfire Protection Plan and/or Hazard Mitigation Plan with a Wildfire Section that is less than ten years old.
  • Funding is not available for fire suppression training, equipment, or supplies.

Who can apply for CWDG funds?

Any community at risk to wildfire can apply, including:
  • Local government
  • Tribes
  • Non-profit organizations (including homeowner associations)
  • State forestry agency

How are CWDG funds prioritized?

Applications will be prioritized by areas of high or very high wildfire hazard, low income communities, communities impacted by a severe disaster within the last ten years which increased wildfire risk and/or hazard to the project area. 
 
The maximum amount of Federal funding awarded to any one community or Tribe via this competitive process is: 
  • $250,000 for the creation or updating of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan. 
  • $10 million for a project described within a Community Wildfire Protection Plan less than 10 years old. 
Required matching funds: 
  • 10% non-Federal match for proposals to develop or update a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP).
  • 25% non-Federal match for proposals to implement projects described within a CWPP.
  • Communities meeting the definition of underserved or Tribal may request a waver of match. 

Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) Application Support Tool 

The Wildfire Risk to Communities project team developed a nationally consistent data dashboard to help communities complete grant applications and for reviewers to score applications. Get specific information about your community. 
 
The CWDG Dashboard supports the goals of the program described in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and can be used to help: 
  • Identify eligible "at-risk communities". 
  • Prioritize places that are "low income", have "been impacted by a severe disaster", have "high or very high wildfire hazard potential".
  • Identity places that qualify as "underserved" and that can request a cost-share waiver. 
The CWDG Dashboard is not intended to be the only source of information to prioritize communities, but it can help fill data gaps to support applicants. 
 
Visit the CWDG Dashboard for more information and links on the Datasets used. 

Round 3 CWDG Documents for Applying

Registration

Register your organization in the System for Award Management. Organizations must have an active registration with the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), which will generate a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Creating a SAM registration may take several weeks or more to complete. Therefore, ensure you apply for your SAM registration promptly. 

Applicant Webinars with the USFS

The application process in Round 3 is the same for all applicants. Any applicant in any region, area, or Tribe may attend any webinar as they will all have the same content, however, the December 4th webinar will be more focused on Tribal applications and Tribal application Q&A.
 
To attend a webinar, please register in advance by clicking on the link following each date:
 
Monday, December 2, 2024, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
Zoom registration
 
Wednesday, December 4, 2024, 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (Tribal focused)
Zoom registration
 
Friday, December 6, 2024, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
Zoom registration
 
Applicant webinar recordings will be made available soon after the webinars for those unable to attend one of the live offerings. Check back on the CWDG website for recordings.
In addition to the webinars above, the Forest Service will be offering periodic "office hours" for applicants throughout the application period.  
 
The first office hours webinar will be December 18, 2024, 2-4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Registration is not required, Zoom link. 

Applicant Webinars with the DNR

Information on DNR hosted webinars will be posted soon. 

Washington State Points-of-Contact

 
Guy Gifford
(509) 990-6218
 
or
 
Marc Titus
(509) 504-5357
 

Legacy CWDG Documents 

Additional Federal Wildfire Grant Resources 

Federal Wildfire Resources describes a variety of pre-disaster Federal grant and cost-share programs across the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), that can support community-led efforts to prepare for wildfire.