Utah’s Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands is a participant in the Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG), administered by the USDA Forest Service in partnership with state forestry agencies. $5 billion has been allocated over 5 years to help communities at risk of wildfires fund projects that support the three goals in the National Cohesive Strategy:
- Restoring and maintaining landscapes
- Creating fire-adapted communities
- Improving wildfire response
Important updates. On February 14, 2025, the Forest Service made the following changes to the program:
The program will now use only the low-income criteria to determine cost-share waiver eligibility (the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool will no longer be used). The CWDG Tool, which applicants can use to determine program eligibility and priority status, has been updated to reflect this change. If applicants search a location they have previously searched, tool developers recommend clearing your cache by refreshing the page to ensure the updated data is displayed. Indian Tribes, Alaskan Native Corporations, Pacific Islanders, and the US Virgin Islands remain eligible to request a match waiver.
The application deadline for this current round of funding has been extended to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on March 14, 2025.
These updates are effective immediately and thus have implications for those who are applying or have already submitted an application for this round of funding. CWDG program managers are preparing notifications to those who have submitted applications and those who have open applications regarding this change and the next steps. All applicants are encouraged to review their proposal in light of these changes.
Additional Resources
Below are links to updated Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) for CWDG. See the “Related Documents” tab on these NOFOs to access additional relevant resources.
The FAC Net CWDG Round 3 Primer also offers helpful tips and resources for applicants.
The USFS offers informal Office Hours for Applicants throughout the application period that are meant to address questions, so please attend the next one! They are not recorded and registration is not required.
Dates / Times:
Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 3:00-5:00 pm ET (1:00-3:00pm MT)
Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 2:00-4:00 pm ET (12:00-2:00pm MT)
Zoom meeting info:
To join the Office Hours Zoom Meeting at the dates and times listed above, go to https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84970312284?pwd=Mv3wKn4i936VvSaPA1UMYycReyVeKT.1
Meeting ID: 849 7031 2284
Passcode: 528561
To join by phone, call: (719) 359-4580 US or (720) 707-2699
Previous applications, including raw scores, can be viewed at cwdg.forestrygrants.org.
More information is available on the Community Wildfire Defense Grants webpage.
Links to helpful resources:
- USDA CWDG Webpage
- Council of Western State Foresters CWDG Webpage
- CWDG Eligibility and Scoring Tool
- CWDG Focused Grant Writing 101 recorded video
Point of Contact for Utah:
Paul Briggs
Statewide Grant Coordinator
801-247-3877
pbriggs@utah.gov