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Rural Fire Assistance Grants Awarded to Four Departments in Northwestern Minnesota

2004

Four volunteer fire departments in the Fergus Falls Wetland Management District in 2004 received more than $38,000 in grants under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Rural Fire Assistance Program.

The Service's Northeast region in fiscal year 2004 allocated nearly $240,000 worth of grants. Eligible fire departments can receive up to $20,000 in grants if the department can match at least 10 percent of the funds in cash, or in-kind services or both.

The four fire departments that received grants were: Garfield Volunteer Fire Department ($12,319), Millerville Volunteer Fire Department ($11,160), Rothsay Volunteer Fire Department ($9,000), and Vergus Volunteer Fire Department ($6,000).

The grants enable the fire departments to purchase equipment and training, which increases success in fighting wildland fires.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages public land in every U.S. state and territory, including 547 national wildlife refuges and 69 national fish hatcheries.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages 75 million burnable acres, including 24 million acres of forest/brushland and 4 million acres of grassland.

More than 50% of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands in the continental U.S. (and more than 90% in Alaska) include fire-adapted ecosystems with vegetation dependent on periodic fire.

An average of 500 wildfires burn 260,000 acres each year on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands. The Service also burns about 300,000 acres a year using prescribed fire.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service annual fire program budget is approximately $80 million.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employs more than 530 permanent fire professionals, along with 270 seasonal and temporary fire employees during fire season.

More than 3,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees are qualified to assist with wildland fire management on an interagency basis.

The U.S. Fish and Wildland Service Fire Management Program protects more than 700 communities and wildland-urban interface areas.

Historically, an acre was the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in one day. This measures 90% of a football field. There are 640 acres in a square mile.

More than 90% of the hazardous fuels reduction by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is completed using prescribed fire.