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Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) - 2026 Round is a grant from the USDA Forest Service that helps at-risk communities develop or update Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) and carry out projects described in an approved CWPP. Authorized through the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act, the program has $1 billion in total funding available. Individual awards range from $250,000 to $10,000,000.
Eligible applicants include nonprofits, state forestry agencies, local governments, and Tribal nations. Communities at elevated wildfire risk with outdated or no CWPPs are prioritized for funding.
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Community Wildfire Defense Grant | Council of Western State Foresters Community Wildfire Defense Grant Western State Fire Managers Health and Wellness Subcommittee State Forestry Success Stories Western State Forestry Job Openings Forest Products Committee Forest Stewardship Program/Landowner Assistance Committee Good Neighbor Authority Committee Western State Fire Managers Community Wildfire Defense Grant USDA Forest Service photo by Andrew Avitt The Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) program provides grants to at-risk communities to develop or revise a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) and to carry out projects described in a CWPP that is less than 10 years old.
CWDG is authorized through the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act (IIJA) and provides $1 billion for this program over a five-year period (fiscal years 2022 through 2026). CWDG prioritizes at-risk communities that are in an area identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, are low-income, and/or have been impacted by a severe disaster.
CWDG helps communities in the wildland urban interface (WUI) implement the three goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (Cohesive Strategy). For Round 3, the CWDG tool will only use the low-income criteria for cost-share waiver eligibility. This change was implemented in February 2025, partway through the Round 3 application period.
Due to this change, the application deadline has been extended to March 14, 2025. On September 23, 2025, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke L. Rollins, announced the funding of 58 round 3 applications for about $200 million.
The USDA press release announced “the selected projects span 22 states and two tribes, supporting efforts to develop or update their community wildfire protection plans and carry out projects to remove hazardous or overgrown vegetation that can fuel fires that threaten lives, livelihoods, and resources. ” View the full list of funded projects .
The portal opened for applications on November 21, 2024, and closed on March 14, 2025, at 11:59 p. m. Eastern Time.
PDF application for Round 3 - The PDF version is not required but is available to help applicants compile all information offline before adding their application information to the portal application. To apply for Round 3 of CWDG, please reach out to the point of contact for your State/Island. Point of contact information can be found in the Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) on grants.
gov . NOFOs have been updated to reflect recent changes. West NOFO: USDA-FS-2024-CWDG-CWSF Tribes NOFO: USDA-FS-2024-CWDG-TRIBES Northeast/Midwest NOFO: USDA-FS-2024-CWDG-NEMW Southern NOFO: USDA-FS-2024-CWDG-SGSF On July 31, 2023, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is again accepting applications for the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program.
Read the press release . On May 14, 2024, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary, Xochitl Torres Small, announced the awarded list of projects for the fiscal year (FY) 23 CWDG program. The portal opened for applications on July 31, 2023, and closed on November 4, 2023, at 11:59 p.
m. Eastern Time. For applications and more information, please get in touch with your state point of contact.
PDF application for Round 2 - The PDF version is not required but is available to help applicants compile all information offline before adding their application information to the portal application. Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) can be found on grants. gov .
Tribes NOFO: USDA-FS-2023-CWDG-TRIBES Southern NOFO: USDA-FS-2023-CWDG-SGSF Northeast/Midwest NOFO: USDA-FS-2023-CWDG-NEMW West NOFO: USDA-FS-2023-CWDG-CWSF On March 20, 2023, the White House and USDA Forest Service announced the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Community Wildfire Defense Grant program project list. See the USDA press release and the Forest Service CWDG Webpage for more information.
In the first round of this program, a total of 100 projects are being funded for a total of $197 million in 22 states and seven tribes throughout the United States. The full list of funded projects can be found here . Portal opened on July 29 and closed on October 7, 2022.
Scoring occurred in October and November 2022. Regional ranked list submitted to the USDA Forest Service Washington Office for integration into a final national list in December 2022. To view western region applications from Round 1, view the portal.
USDA Forest Service CWDG Program Webpage USDA’s Press Release Announcement CWDG Story from New Mexico (January 2025) Competitive Grant Opportunities in the West (October 2024) Round Two of Community Wildfire Defense Grants Announced (May 2024) CWDG Opens for Second Round of Funding (August 2023) $197 Million Invested in State, Private, and Tribal Lands Through Community Wildfire Defense Grants (March 22, 2023) USDA Invests in 58 Community Projects to Reduce Wildfire Risks (September 23, 2025) NASF Press Release (September 23, 2025) National Association of State Foresters' (NASF) Press Release (March 2023) NASF Press Release (July 26, 2022) For questions about CWDG , please contact: Halie Miyazawa , Competitive Grants Manager hmiyazawa@westernforesters.
org 2255 Sheridan Blvd, Suite C-327 info@westernforesters. org
Based on current listing details, eligibility includes: Nonprofits, state forestry agencies, local governments, and Tribes. Applicants should confirm final requirements in the official notice before submission.
Current published award information indicates $250,000 - $10,000,000 Always verify allowable costs, matching requirements, and funding caps directly in the sponsor documentation.
The current target date is rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, attachments, and final submission checks.
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Requirements vary by sponsor, but typically include a project narrative, budget justification, organizational capability statement, and key personnel CVs. Check the official notice for the complete list of required attachments.
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