Strategic Fuels Mitigation Grant Program

Eligibility

The following organizations may apply:

• Local government entities in Boulder County
• Private utilities, ditch companies, and water providers
• State agencies that own or manage land in Boulder County
• Homeowners Associations
• Non-profit organizations

In addition, applicants must:

• Be able to function as the fiscal agent and have legal authority to administer and/or implement treatments in the proposed project area(s).
• Confirm that participating landowner(s) agree to the project’s scope of work and grant’s reporting and monitoring requirements.

What Can Funding Be Used For?

Forest Fuels Mitigation Grants:

• Creation or maintenance of fuel breaks
• Fuels reduction by various appropriate methods, including mechanical thinning, prescribed fire, and others, designed to protect water supplies and/or reduce potential fire intensity
• Removal of saleable woody materials with specific utilization plans
• The removal/disposal of slash and non-merchantable materials using methods such as chipping, mulching, grinding, pile burning, broadcast burning or mechanical removal
• Cross-boundary projects that may include private, local government, and federal lands

Grassland Fuels Mitigation Grants:

• Fuels reduction by various appropriate methods including mowing, grazing, or prescribed fire
• Mitigation on private lands as a multi-homeowner project (e.g., community/HOA common areas, privately owned green spaces/beltways)
• Local government open space management projects with the objectives of mitigating wildfire risks
• Ditch fuels reduction projects
• Cross-boundary projects that may include private, local government, and federal lands

Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs):

• Updates to existing plans or development of new plans

Additional Grant Program Criteria

Proposed projects must be strategic in nature to maximize the effectiveness of this grant program. Strategic proposals should include elements such as:

• Implementation across land ownership boundaries.
• Location within or adjacent to high priority areas, which must be identified in at least one or more of the following: The Boulder County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), local fire protection district or community level CWPP, local hazard mitigation plan, forest management plan (e.g., Forest Agriculture Plan, NRCS Conservation Planning Activities plan) or Wildfire Ready Watershed action plan.
• Identification as a high-risk area on a current wildfire risk map.
• Location within the Boulder County Fireshed Focus Area Map or adjacent to Potential Operational Delineation (POD) mapped areas.
• Identified in a planned project footprint (e.g., St.Vrain Forest Health Project area).
• Part of a larger, landscape-scale treatment effort or a multi-landowner, community- wide project.
• Geographic proximity to public or private lands that have been treated or are planned for treatment.

Local Coordination and Consultation:

• Applicants must demonstrate that they have coordinated their project development with relevant wildfire or forestry experts. Coordination should be with one or more of the following: Boulder County Wildfire Forest and Grassland Project Coordinator or a forester from Boulder County Parks and Open Space, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, or the Colorado State Forest Service, Boulder Field Office.
• Applicants are required to schedule a pre-project site visit with the Boulder County Wildfire Forest and Grassland Project Coordinator and/or identified expert(s), as defined above. All grant applications must also include a letter of support from the consulting forester and/or the Boulder County Wildfire Team Forest and Grasslands Project Coordinator.

Shared and Leveraged Resources:

• Projects (fuels and planning) shall leverage resources (i.e., expertise, staffing and additional financial resources when possible) to maximize effectiveness and efficiency.

Local Measures to Reduce Wildfire Risk:

• Preference will be given to applicants who demonstrate efforts that incorporate local programs or approaches that help reduce wildfire risks to people, property, and infrastructure.

Examples of Local Measures:

• Coordination with individuals and communities participating in the Boulder County Wildfire Partners Program
• Participation in the Firewise USA® Program and/or Neighborhood Ambassador Program
• Adoption and implementation of Fire Adapted Community concepts
• Demonstration of ongoing wildfire outreach and education efforts
• Participation in existing slash or mulch collection or chipping programs
• Adoption of, or plans to adopt, county or local building codes for wildfire mitigation

Protection of Water Supplies:

• Forest treatments that help protect water supplies will be given greater preference.

Budget

There is a $2 million budget for the fall 2023 cycle. Of this amount, planning grants will be capped at $250,000. The county will fund up to five (5) planning proposals at a maximum of $50,000 each. Budget for future cycles is to be determined. Boulder County reserves the right to award full or partial funding to successful applicants if the project is scalable.

The Boulder County Strategic Fuels Mitigation Grant (SFMG) program breakdown of cost share is as follows:

• The SFMG program requires a 50% match provided by other grant programs or funding sources.
• The county will fund up to 40% of the total project budget.
• A project match of 10% or greater shall be provided by the landowner(s). *If the landowner(s) who are participating in the project cannot meet the full 10% match, the project administrator must contact the Boulder County Wildfire Team Forest and Grasslands Project Coordinator to discuss a possible scaling of the project match prior to submitting the grant application packet.
• The county will fund the difference, up to 50%, if the landowner match is scaled below 10%.
• For communities with fewer economic resources:
  • Projects identified as having fewer economic resources and demonstrating an average household income of less than 60% of the Boulder County Annual Median Income (AMI) will be eligible to reduce the required 50% match to a 25% match and the Boulder County grant program will provide up to 75% match.
• Matching contributions can be either cash, in-kind or a combination of both.
• Applications that demonstrate and leverage strong local commitment through landowner cash match and robust community engagement are preferred. Funds will be awarded on a project-to-project basis depending upon strategic value and available funding.

Reimbursement Requests

Grantee must complete a reporting form, included in the reimbursement packet, with each reimbursement request, identifying acres treated, wood utilization (if applicable), and type of treatment. During the life of the fuels mitigation project, the grantee must schedule periodic site visits with the Boulder County Wildfire Team Forest and Grasslands Project Coordinator.

Completion of Project Requirements

At the completion of a fuels mitigation project, a final report will be required. The final report for fuels mitigation projects should have a narrative of accomplishments that includes the following:

• Number of acres treated
• Cost per acre to treat
• Type of treatment(s)
• If wood products were generated, discuss type of wood product, volume, and value
• List of partners who contributed to the project
• Digital “before and after” photos
• Spatial data (i.e., shapefiles) for treated areas

At the completion of a planning project, a copy of an approved and signed community wildfire protection plan must be submitted to the Boulder County Grant Program Administrator at cppwildfiregrants@bouldercounty.gov.

Future grant cycles will coincide with common state, federal and local wildfire mitigation grants, (e.g., FRWRM, CAFA, SFA).

Application Process

Please combine grant application and allowable supporting documents into a single PDF or compressed zip folder and submit via email to the CP&P Wildfire Team Grants Administrator at cppwildfiregrants@bouldercounty.gov.

Required Grant Application Checklist:

• Application
• Project Map
• Letter of Support

Application Review and Selection Process

• Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee of 3-5 professionals with fuels mitigation or planning expertise. Committee members will be solicited from non-governmental, local, state, or federal government stakeholder groups. The committee will evaluate, score, and rank all submitted applications and will make recommendations for project funding to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). The BOCC will provide final funding approval.

Award Notification Process

• Once the CP&P Wildfire Team Grants Administrator receives the application, an email will be sent to the applicant to confirm receipt of the grant packet. The grant selection committee will review, score, and rank applications, and make funding recommendations to the BOCC.
• If funding is approved, a pre-award notification letter will be sent to the applicant within 6 weeks, stating the amount awarded and providing information about the next steps. Upon receipt of the applicant’s W-9 and final Scope of Work (SOW), the grant agreement and grant reimbursement packet will be sent to the grantee for signature and documentation of required match.

Match Documentation

• Applicant must provide documentation that project funds have been matched at the minimum 50% match requirement within six months of receiving the pre-award notification letter.
• If applicant receives notification that they have not been awarded matching grant funds and cannot secure the 50% match to the SFMG award, the applicant can reapply in the next County grant cycle.
• If funded, the SFMG award will have a 3-year life span for mitigation projects and a 2-year life span for planning projects.

Application Materials

2023 Grant Application- Fuels Mitigation
2023 Grant Application – Planning

Grant Guidelines

Fuels Mitigations Guidelines
Planning Projects Guidelines
2023 Eligibility Criteria
Allowable/Non-Allowable Costs

Example Maps

Boulder County Fireshed Focus Area Map
Boulder County Potential Operational Delineations (PODs) Map
St. Vrain Forest Health Partnership Map
Wildfire Risk Map

Boulder County Wildfire Resources and Information