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Frequently Asked Questions
National Fire Plan
Community Assistance Grants Program
National Fire Plan
What documents
comprise the National Fire Plan?
What is the
Wildland-Urban Interface?
What is an At-Risk
Community?
What does it mean to
collaborate?
Community Assistance Grants Program
How
do I apply for a grant?
Who is eligible to
apply?
How much money is
available in Fiscal Year 2008 for the grant program?
Why aren’t
planning project proposals being accepted this year?
Why aren’t
prevention/education project proposals being accepted this year?
What is the timeline
for the grants process?
When do I find out if
my grant was selected?
How do I know if my
grant was received?
Can I send additional
attachments with my application?
How do I get in touch
with the group that locally coordinates Community Wildfire Protection
Plans in my area?
How do I find out if a
Community Wildfire Protection Plan has been written?
Will you only fund
projects that are a part of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan?
How much money is
awarded on average per grant?
Are matching funds
required?
What can be used as a match for the Grants?
If we have volunteers contributing to the project how can we
estimate the value their participation?
If my project is not
selected will I learn why?
If selected, when will
my project be funded?
Does the project have
to be completed in one year?
Must National
Environmental Policy Act requirements be completed before submitting
a grant application?
NATIONAL FIRE PLAN
What documents comprise the National Fire Plan?
In response to the wildland fires of 2000, President Clinton requested,
and the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture submitted, a September
8, 2000, report, Managing the Impact of Wildfires on Communities
and the Environment, A Report to the President In Response to the Wildfires
of 2000. This report, its accompanying budget request, Congressional
direction for substantial new appropriations for wildland fire management, resulting action plans and agency
strategies and the Western Governor's Association's A Collaborative
Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the
Environment - A 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy - Implementation Plan have collectively become known as the
National Fire Plan.
There are
five key areas addressed under the National Fire Plan:
Firefighting and Preparedness
Rehabilitation and Restoration
Hazardous Fuels Reduction
Community Assistance
Accountability
For more information:
Managing
the Impact of Wildfires on Communities and the Environment
A 6-Page Brochure -- [ 424K PDF]
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What is the Wildland-Urban Interface?
An area within or adjacent to a community at risk that is
identified in a Community Wildfire Protection Plan or any area for
which a community wildfire protection pan is not in effect that is: |
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sustained steep slopes that may
affect wildfire behavior;
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has a geographic feature that aids
in creating an effective fuel break; or
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is
in condition class 3 (for more information on condition class
please visit the
Fire Regime Condition Class website.
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What is an At-Risk Community?
An at-risk community is a group of of homes and other
structures with basic infrastructure and services within or adjacent
to federal land who along with the residents are significantly
threatened by a large scale wildland fire disturbance event.
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What does it mean to collaborate?
Collaborating is defined not
by the number of people working together, but by the representation
on the group. At the local level, successful grants can
include decision makers from federal, state and local governments,
Tribes, community-based groups, landowners, and other interested
parties. Collaboration is used to establish priorities,
cooperate on activities, and increase public awareness and
participation to reduce fire risk to communities and surrounding
lands.
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COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE GRANTS PROGRAM
How do I apply for a grant?
Applications for the Community
Assistance Grant Program
must be submitted, along with a map no larger than 2Mb, by email to:
NW_Fire_Plan_Grants@or.blm.gov by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February
6th, 2009. Please
visit the "How
to Apply" page for more
information. No faxed, or mailed applications will be
accepted.
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Who is eligible to apply?
Counties, cities, federal, state and local government agencies,
federally recognized Tribes, universities, colleges, and
state-chartered non-profit organizations are all eligible to apply.
Please note:
No more than two proposals per county may be submitted. Proposals
should be in a high-risk county, as identified in the statewide risk
assessment. If two proposals are submitted, they must be prioritized
by the county.
For more program detail information, please visit the
Community Assistance page.
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How much money is available in Fiscal Year 2010 for the
grant program?
The exact dollar amount
available each year varies, however agency administrators anticipate
approximately $3 Million in fiscal year 2010. For more specific
information, please visit the
Overview Table
on the Community Assistance Background
page.
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Why aren’t planning project proposals being accepted this year?
The priority is to complete basic county-wide Community Wildfire
Protection Plans (CWPPs) in high fire risk counties. Currently, BLM
is the only agency able to fund planning, and funding anticipated
for Fiscal Year 2010 is very limited. The Washington Department of
Natural Resources and the Oregon Department of Forestry have agreed
to coordinate and administer the grants to provide seed money to
develop county-wide CWPPs in counties that are at high risk for
wildfire and that have BLM-administered lands within the county.
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Why aren’t prevention/education project proposals being accepted
this year?
Funding for prevention and education projects has been
very limited and continues to decline as the overall funding for NFP
grants is reduced. The federal agencies will collaborate with
partners at the Washington Department of Natural Resources, the
Oregon Department of Forestry, and the Offices of the State Fire
Marshal in both states to identify a prevention and education
project or program for funding.
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What is the timeline for the grants process?
For information on the Fiscal
Year 2010 Grants Process Timeline, please visit the
Timeline Page.
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When do I find out if my grant was selected?
For the Fiscal Year 2010 Grants
Process, applicants will be notified by June 2009. For more information on the Timeline, please
visit the
Timeline Page.
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How do I know if my grant was received?
You will receive a confirmation email
when the application, along
with a map no larger than 2Mb, is sent to:
NW_Fire_Plan_Grants@or.blm.gov by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February
6th, 2009.
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Can I send additional attachments with my application?
No additional information can be sent.
However, the application
must be submitted, along with a map no larger than 2Mb, by email to:
NW_Fire_Plan_Grants@or.blm.gov by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February
6th, 2009.
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How can I
make a map of the project area and what should it include?
We have provided links to mapping tools for both
Oregon and
Washington to help in the creation of project specific
maps. The map should support the application narrative and
illustrate how the project meets the criteria of this grant program.
We have also posted some
examples of maps that have common elements that will be useful
to include in the final project map.
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How do I get in touch with the group that locally coordinates
Community Wildfire Protection Plans in my area?
Contact your local federal land
management agency or the county office.
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How do I find out if a Community Wildfire
Protection Plan has been written?
Contact your local federal land
management agency, county office, or fire marshal.
For more information on the CWPP's in your area, please visit see the
Grant Application Packet
on the How to Apply Page.
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Will you only fund projects that are a part of Community
Wildfire Protection Plan?
Yes. These projects are more
strategic in meeting National Fire Plan aims for communities and
ecosystems.
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How much money is awarded on average per grant?
Awards vary, but the maximum
award amount in FY 2010 will be $200,000. Work with local agency
representatives to develop a budget just as you do the rest of your
proposal.
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Are matching funds required?
Yes. Have collaborative match of at least 50 percent of
the total project budget (may
include in-kind)
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What can be
used as a match for the Grants?
Applicants must demonstrate that they have a
collaborative match of at least 50 percent of the total project
budget (may include in-kind). The in-kind can be from volunteer
hours from individuals donating their time to help plan, administer,
or implement the grant project. Other federal funds
CAN NOT BE
USED as part of the match.
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If we have
volunteers contributing to the project how can we estimate the value
their participation?
We have provided
links to some websites that help applicants calculate the
value of volunteer hours for the purpose of budgeting and accounting
for in-kind match.
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If my project is not selected will I learn why?
Yes, you will be contacted by
your state forestry organization by March
31st, 2009.
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If selected, when will my project be funded?
Funding is dependent upon the
passage of a congressional appropriations act for each fiscal year.
This public law (Bill) can pass anywhere from 6-18 months after
applications are received. Once the bill is passed, funding of
grants will begin. The funding process can take up to an additional
six months, but will occur by September 30th
of the fiscal year for which the
grant application is made, provided that any necessary environmental
compliance requirements are met.
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Does the project have to be completed in one year?
No, however, projects with
timelines between one to two years score higher in the proposal
evaluation process.
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Do National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA) and
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requirements have to be
met before submitting a grant application?
No. Typically local federal agency
representatives will help a grant applicant to meet these
requirements. By working with your local representatives in the
design of a project proposal you should be able to develop a project
that will have no difficulty complying.
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