Forest Service Wildfire Risk Reduction / Wildfire Response RFA 2020 | USDA FS 2020 WRR WR

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FS 2020 WRR WR

The Forest Service Wildfire Risk Reduction / Wildfire Response RFA 2020 (Funding Opportunity Number: USDA FS 2020 WRR WR; CFDA 10.664) is a discretionary grant program offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. It is positioned within the Forest Service approach known as "Moving Toward Shared Stewardship Across Landscapes," which emphasizes coordinated, cross-boundary work to reduce wildfire risk and improve outcomes at the landscape scale. The specific competitive request for applications highlighted here is the Eastern Region Cohesive Fire Strategy program, aimed at advancing shared wildfire priorities across Midwestern and Northeastern states while also aligning with the Forest Service's budget direction for that year.

At its core, the opportunity funds projects that help implement the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. The program is built around three national goals. The first goal, Restore and Maintain Landscapes, focuses on making landscapes more resilient to fire-related disturbance across all jurisdictions, meaning federal, state, local, tribal, and private lands where applicable. Projects under this goal typically align with management objectives that reduce hazardous fuels, improve forest and vegetation conditions, and support long-term ecosystem health so that when fire occurs, it behaves more within an acceptable range and causes less severe damage. The second goal, Create Fire Adapted Communities, centers on reducing risks to people, homes, and infrastructure by helping communities better withstand wildfire without loss of life or property. This can include prevention, preparedness, mitigation, community planning, and actions that reduce structure ignitability and improve public understanding of wildfire risk. The third goal, Improve Wildfire Response, supports better coordination and decision-making among jurisdictions so that wildfire management is safer, more effective, more efficient, and based on risk. This goal highlights collaboration in planning, operational readiness, interagency response systems, and approaches that improve responder and public safety while using resources strategically.

The grant is designed to be broadly accessible to a wide range of partners who can contribute to wildfire risk reduction and response capacity. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations, including both 501(c)(3) nonprofits and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (as specified by the opportunity). The eligibility list also includes an "Others" category, indicating that additional applicant types may be eligible depending on the clarifications provided in the full announcement under the eligibility section. Overall, this reflects the program's intent to support cross-boundary collaboration and shared stewardship, where successful projects often involve partnerships among agencies, community organizations, and other stakeholders.

From a funding standpoint, the award ceiling is listed as $150,000, and the Forest Service expected to make approximately 15 awards under this announcement. The opportunity was created on October 28, 2019, with an original closing date of December 20, 2019. The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity category is Environment and Natural Resources, which matches the program's emphasis on landscape resilience, community mitigation, and wildfire response improvements.

In practical terms, this RFA is best understood as a targeted competitive funding opportunity for the Midwest and Northeast that supports applied, on-the-ground and programmatic work aligned with the Cohesive Strategy. The Forest Service framing strongly suggests that high-value proposals would demonstrate cross-jurisdiction coordination, a clear connection to one or more of the three national goals, and a credible plan for producing measurable wildfire risk reduction or response improvements at a scale that makes sense for the landscape and communities involved.

• The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service in the environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Forest Service Wildfire Risk Reduction / Wildfire Response RFA 2020" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.664.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 28, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 20, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for USDA FS 2020 WRR WR

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