Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FS 2023 CWDG NEMW
The Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) 2023 Northeast-Midwest opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: USDA FS 2023 CWDG NEMW) is a discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Its core aim is to help communities that face meaningful wildfire risk take practical steps to plan for, reduce, and manage that risk. The program is designed around the idea that wildfire is not only a Western issue; communities in the Northeast and Midwest can also face increasing wildfire exposure, especially in and around the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where homes, businesses, and public infrastructure sit close to fire-prone vegetation.
The grant is authorized under Public Law 117-58, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (often called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law). Funding supports two main types of work: (1) developing a new Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) or revising an existing CWPP, and (2) implementing projects that are already described in an existing CWPP, as long as that plan is less than ten years old. In practice, this means applicants can seek support either to build the planning foundation (risk assessment, priorities, community coordination, and treatment strategies) or to carry out on-the-ground and community-focused actions that a recent CWPP has already identified as needed.
A major emphasis of the CWDG program is prioritizing support for communities and Tribes that are most at risk and have fewer resources to manage wildfire threats on their own. The program specifically highlights three priority conditions: communities located in areas identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, low-income communities, and communities that have been impacted by a severe disaster. The details and definitions for how these priorities are evaluated are laid out in the official Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which applicants are expected to review carefully before submitting an application.
The program is also tied directly to the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (the Cohesive Strategy), which frames wildfire resilience across three connected goals. The first is restoring and maintaining resilient landscapes, meaning work that helps lands across boundaries (regardless of who owns or manages them) better withstand wildfire, insects, disease, invasive species, and climate-driven stressors. The second goal is creating fire-adapted communities, which focuses on helping people, homes, and critical infrastructure become as ready as possible to prepare for wildfire, respond during an incident, and recover afterward. The third goal is improving wildfire response by encouraging coordinated, risk-based decision-making across jurisdictions so that wildfire management is safer, more effective, and more efficient.
Eligible applicants are broad and include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, federally recognized Tribal governments, other Tribal organizations, and nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) nonprofits, as long as they are not institutions of higher education). The funding activity category is listed as Disaster Prevention and Relief and Natural Resources under CFDA 10.720, reflecting the program’s dual focus on reducing disaster risk and strengthening natural-resource and community resilience.
Key logistics from the posting include a creation date of July 31, 2023, and an original application closing date of October 31, 2023. The award ceiling is listed as $10,000,000, and the program anticipated making around 100 awards. Applications are submitted through the CWDG application portal at cwdg.forestrygrants.org, with the NOFO serving as the main instruction set for requirements, eligibility details, priority scoring considerations, and submission components.
To support applicants, the Forest Service scheduled a set of Applicant Webinars for CWDG Round 2. The webinars cover the same application process across regions (unlike Round 1, which had regional differences). Any eligible applicant, regardless of location or Tribal affiliation, may attend any session, though the August 10 webinar was noted as having a stronger focus on Tribal applications and a Tribal-oriented Q and A segment. The live webinar dates and times listed were August 4, August 9, August 10, and August 15, each from 2pm to 4pm Eastern, with registration links provided in the announcement. Recordings were planned to be posted afterward on the Forest Service CWDG website for anyone who could not attend live.Apply for USDA FS 2023 CWDG NEMW
- The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service in the disaster prevention and relief, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Community Wildfire Defense Grant 2023 Northeast-Midwest" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.720.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 31, 2023.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 31, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $10,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 100 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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.
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Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) 2023 Northeast-Midwest (USDA FS 2023 CWDG NEMW) - FAQs
What is the Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) 2023 Northeast-Midwest opportunity?
The Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) 2023 Northeast-Midwest opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: USDA FS 2023 CWDG NEMW) is a discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service. It supports community-driven efforts to plan for, reduce, and manage meaningful wildfire risk in the Northeast and Midwest, including in wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas.
What is the main goal of this grant program?
The core aim is to help communities facing meaningful wildfire risk take practical steps to plan for that risk, reduce it, and manage it. The program emphasizes that wildfire risk is not limited to the Western U.S.; communities in the Northeast and Midwest can also face increasing exposure.
What kinds of projects does CWDG fund?
Funding supports two main types of work: (1) developing a new Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) or revising an existing CWPP, and (2) implementing projects that are already described in an existing CWPP, as long as that CWPP is less than ten years old.
Can an applicant use funds to create or update a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP)?
Yes. One of the two primary eligible uses of funding is developing a new CWPP or revising an existing CWPP.
Can an applicant use funds to implement work already listed in a CWPP?
Yes. The program can fund implementation of projects already described in an existing CWPP, as long as the plan is less than ten years old.
How recent does a CWPP need to be for implementation projects to qualify?
The CWPP must be less than ten years old for projects described in the plan to be eligible for implementation funding.
What law authorizes this grant program?
The program is authorized under Public Law 117-58, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law).
How does this grant relate to the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy?
The CWDG program is tied directly to the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (the Cohesive Strategy), which frames wildfire resilience across three connected goals: restoring and maintaining resilient landscapes, creating fire-adapted communities, and improving wildfire response through coordinated, risk-based decision-making.
What does "restoring and maintaining resilient landscapes" mean in this program context?
In the Cohesive Strategy context described for this program, it refers to work that helps lands across boundaries (regardless of ownership or management) better withstand wildfire, insects, disease, invasive species, and climate-driven stressors.
What does "creating fire-adapted communities" mean in this program context?
It focuses on helping people, homes, and critical infrastructure become as ready as possible to prepare for wildfire, respond during an incident, and recover afterward.
What does "improving wildfire response" mean in this program context?
It emphasizes coordinated, risk-based decision-making across jurisdictions so wildfire management is safer, more effective, and more efficient.
Who is eligible to apply for this funding?
Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, federally recognized Tribal governments, other Tribal organizations, and nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) nonprofits, as long as they are not institutions of higher education).
Are federally recognized Tribal governments eligible?
Yes. Federally recognized Tribal governments are explicitly listed among eligible applicants.
Are other Tribal organizations eligible to apply?
Yes. The eligibility list includes other Tribal organizations in addition to federally recognized Tribal governments.
Are nonprofit organizations eligible?
Yes. Nonprofit organizations are eligible, including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) nonprofits, as long as they are not institutions of higher education.
Are institutions of higher education eligible?
Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education are listed as eligible applicants.
What types of communities does the program prioritize?
The program places major emphasis on prioritizing support for communities and Tribes that are most at risk and have fewer resources to manage wildfire threats on their own.
What are the stated priority conditions for this grant?
The opportunity highlights three priority conditions: (1) communities located in areas identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, (2) low-income communities, and (3) communities that have been impacted by a severe disaster.
Where are the official definitions and evaluation details for the priority conditions?
The details and definitions for how priorities are evaluated are laid out in the official Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which applicants are expected to review carefully before submitting an application.
What is the CFDA number and funding activity category for this opportunity?
The opportunity is listed under CFDA 10.720. The funding activity category is described as Disaster Prevention and Relief and Natural Resources.
What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling listed in the posting is $10,000,000.
How many awards were anticipated?
The posting anticipated making around 100 awards.
When was this opportunity created?
The creation date listed is July 31, 2023.
What was the original application closing date?
The original application closing date listed is October 31, 2023.
Where do applicants submit their applications?
Applications are submitted through the CWDG application portal at cwdg.forestrygrants.org.
What document serves as the main instruction set for applying?
The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) serves as the main instruction set for requirements, eligibility details, priority scoring considerations, and submission components.
Were there applicant webinars for CWDG Round 2?
Yes. The Forest Service scheduled Applicant Webinars for CWDG Round 2 to cover the application process.
Did the webinars differ by region?
The webinars were intended to cover the same application process across regions for Round 2 (unlike Round 1, which had regional differences).
Who could attend the applicant webinars?
Any eligible applicant, regardless of location or Tribal affiliation, could attend any webinar session.
Which webinar session had a stronger focus on Tribal applications?
The August 10 webinar was noted as having a stronger focus on Tribal applications and included a Tribal-oriented Q and A segment.
When were the live webinar sessions scheduled?
The live webinar dates listed were August 4, August 9, August 10, and August 15, each from 2pm to 4pm Eastern.
Were webinar recordings expected to be available?
Yes. Recordings were planned to be posted afterward on the Forest Service CWDG website for those who could not attend live.
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Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (USDA FS 2023 CWDG NEMW) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Community Wildfire Defense Grant 2023 South Apply for USDA FS 2023 CWDG SGSF Funding Number: USDA FS 2023 CWDG SGSF Agency: Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Category: Disaster Prevention and Relief, Natural Resources Funding Amount: $10,000,000 |
| Forest Service Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy RFA 2024 Apply for USDA FS 2024 COHESIVE STRATEGY Funding Number: USDA FS 2024 COHESIVE STRATEGY Agency: Forest Service Category: Disaster Prevention and Relief, Natural Resources Funding Amount: $300,000 |
| Regional Fiscal Year 2024 Cooperating Technical Partners (CTP) Program Apply for DHS 24 MT 045 01 99 Funding Number: DHS 24 MT 045 01 99 Agency: Department of Homeland Security - FEMA Category: Disaster Prevention and Relief, Natural Resources Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| HQ Fiscal Year 2024 Cooperating Technical Partners (CTP) Program Apply for DHS 24 MT 045 00 99 Funding Number: DHS 24 MT 045 00 99 Agency: Department of Homeland Security - FEMA Category: Disaster Prevention and Relief, Natural Resources Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| FY25 State Fire Capacity Wildfire Hazard Mitigation Apply for USDA FS FY25 R8 WILDFIRE MITIGATION Funding Number: USDA FS FY25 R8 WILDFIRE MITIGATION Agency: Forest Service Category: Disaster Prevention and Relief, Natural Resources Funding Amount: $300,000 |
| 2025 Forest Service Eastern Region Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy NOFO Apply for USDA FS 2025 COHESIVE STRATEGY Funding Number: USDA FS 2025 COHESIVE STRATEGY Agency: Forest Service Category: Disaster Prevention and Relief, Natural Resources Funding Amount: $300,000 |
| Community Wildfire Defense Grant 2024 (FY25) South Apply for USDA FS 2024 CWDG SGSF Funding Number: USDA FS 2024 CWDG SGSF Agency: Forest Service Category: Disaster Prevention and Relief, Natural Resources Funding Amount: $10,000,000 |
| Community Wildfire Defense Grant 2024 (FY25) Tribes Apply for USDA FS 2024 CWDG TRIBES Funding Number: USDA FS 2024 CWDG TRIBES Agency: Forest Service Category: Disaster Prevention and Relief, Natural Resources Funding Amount: $10,000,000 |
| Community Wildfire Defense Grant 2024 (FY25) West Apply for USDA FS 2024 CWDG CWSF Funding Number: USDA FS 2024 CWDG CWSF Agency: Forest Service Category: Disaster Prevention and Relief, Natural Resources Funding Amount: $10,000,000 |
| Community Wildfire Defense Grant 2024 (FY25) Northeast-Midwest Apply for USDA FS 2024 CWDG NEMW Funding Number: USDA FS 2024 CWDG NEMW Agency: Forest Service Category: Disaster Prevention and Relief, Natural Resources Funding Amount: $10,000,000 |
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