Applications for Texas A&M Forest Service prescribed fire grant now open

Texas A&M Forest Service is now accepting grant applications for the State Fire Assistance for Mitigation – Plains Prescribed Fire Grant through Aug. 15. 

The grant will provide $74,514 in total funding for prescribed burns.

Funding will be provided to landowners and communities that have been, or may be, threatened by wildland fire to reduce hazardous fuels. Properties in the panhandle, west and northwest Texas at a high risk for loss during a Southern Plains Wildfire Outbreak are eligible.

Grant recipients will be reimbursed actual per acre costs associated with conducting the prescribed burn up to $30 per acre with a limit of 500 acres per recipient.

“Historically, fire has been a necessary tool to improve forage quality for grazing, enhance wildlife habitat and preserve soil nutrients on the rangelands of Texas,” said Jake Gosschalk, Texas A&M Forest Service Program Specialist.

Wildfires can be destructive when they occur at the wrong time or near a community that is unprepared. To plan ahead and mitigate these impacts, Texas A&M Forest Service works with landowners and local and county governments to complete Community Wildfire Protection Plans.

“Recent rains across the state have definitely encouraged greening-up of vegetation, but it’s a good idea to plan for prescribed fire treatments in the fall and winter when grasses, forbs and other vegetation have had the opportunity to dry out due to frost kill,” said Gosschalk.  “Landowners that decide to utilize prescribed fire as a treatment method can greatly reduce fuel loads to mitigate the threat of potential wildfires.”

Landowners located within two miles of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan will receive priority funding. This program enhances awareness of wildfire risk and empowers individual landowners and the overall community to act to reduce the risk of wildfire in their area. For more information on Community Wildfire Protection Plans, visit https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/ProtectYourCommunity/.

To check eligibility and complete the State Fire Assistance for Mitigation – Plains Prescribed Fire Grant online application, visit https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/PrescribedFireGrantsApplication/.

Learn more about prescribed fire by visiting https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/PrescribedBurns/ or the TDA Prescribed Burning Board.