Colorado State Forest Service Accepting Applications for 2009 Wildland-Urban Interface Competitive Grants

The Colorado State Forest Service is accepting applications for the 2009 Wildland-Urban Interface Competitive Grant Program. The purpose of the program is to make funds available to homeowners associations, subdivisions, fire departments, fire protection districts, counties and others to implement projects that help mitigate wildfire hazards in the wildland-urban interface.

Funds are available for hazardous fuels reduction, education and planning. Projects affiliated with established Community Wildfire Protection Plans will receive priority. All grants require a one-to-one match.

The State and Private Forestry Program of the U.S. Forest Service receives funding for the grants through federal appropriations. In Colorado, the Colorado State Forest Service, an agency of Colorado State University, administers the grants.

"Colorado will compete with 17 Western states and territories for limited funds, so it’s important to submit applications that are complete, concise, specific and clearly demonstrate what will be accomplished," said Jane Lopez, assistant staff forester, Colorado State Forest Service.

Applications must be submitted to CSFS district offices. Check with your local district office about deadlines. The districts will review, prioritize and forward applications to the CSFS State Office by August 29. The state office will consider several factors, including the existence of an established Community Wildfire Protection Plan; whether the project addresses landscape and watershed needs; whether it complements projects on adjacent lands including federal, state, tribal or private; the relative benefit of the project compared with cost; the probability of success based on clarity of project description and revenue/expenses; and local organization or local government sponsorship of the project.

Additional information about the 2009 Wildland-Urban Interface Competitive Grant Program, including program criteria, instructions, application forms and reference documents is available online at www.csfs.colostate.edu. Your local CSFS district office can provide assistance with the grant application process and project development.

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