Overview

The Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) program provides grants to at-risk communities to develop or revise a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) and to carry out projects described in a CWPP that is less than 10 years old. 

CWDG is authorized through the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act (IIJA) and provides $1 billion for this program over a five-year period (fiscal years 2022 through 2026). CWDG prioritizes at-risk communities that are in an area identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, are low-income, and/or have been impacted by a severe disaster.  

CWDG helps communities in the wildland urban interface (WUI) implement the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (Cohesive Strategy):

  • Resilient Landscapes – Landscapes, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries are resilient to fire, insect, disease, invasive species and climate change disturbances, in accordance with management objectives. 
  • Fire Adapted Communities – Human populations and infrastructure are as prepared as possible to receive, respond to, and recover from wildland fire.
  • Safe, Effective, Risk-based Wildfire Response – All jurisdictions participate in making and implementing safe, effective, efficient risk-based wildfire management decisions.

Round 3

Timeline

The portal opened for applications on November 21, 2024, and will close on February 28, 2025.

Application Materials

PDF application for Round 3 - The PDF version is not required but is available to help applicants compile all information offline before adding their application information to the portal application.

To apply for Round 3 of CWDG, please reach out to the point of contact for your State/Island. Point of contact information can be found in the Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) on grants.gov.

Applicant Webinars

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 4 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 to 4 p.m. EST - Register
  • Wednesday, December 4, 2024, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. EST (Tribal focused) - Register
  • Friday, December 6, 2024, 2 to 4 p.m. EST - Register

Applicant webinar recordings will be made available soon after the webinars for those unable to attend one of the live offerings. 

Office Hours

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 on December 18, 2024, 2-4 p.m. EST. Registration is not required. Click on the link to join https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82666175113 (Meeting ID: 826 6617 5113, One tap mobile: +17207072699,,82666175113#)
 

Round 2

Announcement

On July 31, 2023, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is again accepting applications for the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program. Read the press release.

On May 14, 2024, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary, Xochitl Torres Small, announced the awarded list of projects for the fiscal year (FY) 23 CWDG program.

Timeline 

The portal opened for applications on July 31, 2023, and closed on November 4, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

Application Materials

For applications and more information, please get in touch with your state point of contact. 

  • PDF application for Round 2 - The PDF version is not required but is available to help applicants compile all information offline before adding their application information to the portal application.
  • Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) can be found on grants.gov.
    • Tribes NOFO: USDA-FS-2023-CWDG-TRIBES
    • Southern NOFO: USDA-FS-2023-CWDG-SGSF
    • Northeast/Midwest NOFO: USDA-FS-2023-CWDG-NEMW
    • West NOFO: USDA-FS-2023-CWDG-CWSF 
  • FY2023 CWDG Applicant Webinars - Community Wildfire Defense Grant webinar for potential applicants who are interested in applying for this grant program. The USDA Forest Service will go over the grant program and the process for submitting an application. The application process in Round 2 is the same for all applicants (versus Round 1, where there were different processes for different regions), and any applicant in any region, area, or Tribe may attend any webinar; they will all have the same content; however, the August 10 Webinar will be more focused on Tribal applications and Tribal application Q&A.
  • CWDG Grant Writing Workshop - A grant writing workshop facilitated by Western Region Program Managers to help potential applicants through the grant application. The workshop will cover the application process, answering the questions effectively and finalizing responses, as well as helpful tips for improved grant writing. Specific grant program questions and eligibility questions will not be covered.
Round 1

Round 1

Announcement

On March 20, 2023, the White House and USDA Forest Service announced the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Community Wildfire Defense Grant program project list. See the USDA press release and the Forest Service CWDG Webpage for more information. 

In the first round of this program, a total of 100 projects are being funded for a total of $197 million in 22 states and seven tribes throughout the United States. The full list of funded projects can be found here.

Timeline

  • Portal opened on July 29 and closed on October 7, 2022. Scoring occurred in October and November 2022. 
  • Regional ranked list submitted to the USDA Forest Service Washington Office for integration into a final national list in December 2022. To view western region applications from Round 1, view the portal.

Resources

Contact

For questions about CWDG, please contact:

Halie Miyazawa, Competitive Grants Manager
hmiyazawa@westernforesters.org