Forest Service Cross-Boundary Wildfire Hazard Mitigation RFA 2021 | USDA FS 2021 CB

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FS 2021 CB

The Forest Service Cross-Boundary Wildfire Hazard Mitigation RFA 2021 (Funding Opportunity Number USDA FS 2021 CB) is a discretionary grant opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (CFDA 10.664). It was created on November 16, 2020, with an original application closing date of January 15, 2021, and the Forest Service anticipated making around 10 awards. The listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically signals that a specific maximum dollar cap was not stated in the public synopsis and that applicants would need to rely on the full Request for Applications and any posted budget guidance to understand project sizing expectations.

The core purpose of the opportunity is to reduce wildfire hazard and manage wildfire risk across boundaries by advancing the Forest Service approach known as Moving Toward Shared Stewardship Across Landscapes. In practical terms, Shared Stewardship emphasizes coordinated planning and investment across federal, state, tribal, local, and private lands so that wildfire risk is addressed at the scale where it actually plays out: across whole landscapes rather than within a single jurisdiction. This RFA is framed as an Eastern Region Cohesive Fire Strategy competitive request for applications, focused on supporting priorities of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy across the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, while also aligning with the intent of the given fiscal year budget direction.

The opportunity is explicitly tied to the three national goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. First, Restore and Maintain Landscapes centers on making landscapes across all jurisdictions more resilient to fire-related disturbance while still meeting local management objectives. This generally points to work that improves ecological conditions and reduces the likelihood of severe, damaging fire effects through coordinated treatments and stewardship actions that are strategically placed and maintained over time. Second, Create Fire Adapted Communities targets community readiness and risk reduction so that people, homes, and critical infrastructure can better withstand wildfire without loss of life and property. This goal usually aligns with efforts that reduce exposure and vulnerability in and around communities, strengthen local preparedness, and support practical mitigation that can be sustained. Third, Improve Wildfire Response focuses on interagency participation in safe, effective, efficient, risk-based wildfire management decisions, which reflects the need for shared operating approaches, better coordination, and decisions grounded in risk, values at stake, and responder safety.

Eligible applicants are broad and include many of the partners needed for cross-boundary wildfire work. Public-sector eligibility includes state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, and independent school districts. Tribal eligibility includes federally recognized tribal governments as well as other tribal organizations. The opportunity is also open to nonprofit organizations, both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) entities (excluding institutions of higher education), and to for-profit organizations other than small businesses. This wide eligibility profile is consistent with the program emphasis on shared stewardship, since wildfire risk reduction often requires collaborative projects that combine land management, community mitigation, and coordination among varied local and regional stakeholders.

Overall, this RFA is best understood as a competitive Forest Service grant program intended to fund projects in the Midwest and Northeast that measurably advance cohesive fire strategy outcomes across jurisdictional lines. The central theme is collaboration at landscape scale, with proposals expected to contribute to more resilient landscapes, better-prepared and fire-adapted communities, and improved interagency wildfire response decision-making that prioritizes safety and effectiveness.

• The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service in the environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Forest Service Cross-Boundary Wildfire Hazard Mitigation RFA 2021" 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 Nov 16, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 15, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), 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, For profit organizations other than small businesses.

Apply for USDA FS 2021 CB

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