The purpose of the good neighbor authority agreement award is to fund hazardous fuels reduction projects in 2022 and in 2023 2026 in the alaskan village of nulato

The Nulato Tribal Council was awarded a $235,450 cooperative agreement from the Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Alaska Region under the Good Neighbor Authority federal grant program. The award will fund hazardous fuels reduction projects in the Alaskan village of Nulato from 2023 through 2026. Specifically, the Tribal Council will use award funds to hire local and other qualified workers to maintain existing fuel breaks surrounding parts of the community, create new fuel breaks to further protect Nulato from wildfire, and establish defensible space around residential homes, community buildings, and critical infrastructure using Firewise methodology. The projects aim to reduce wildfire risks to the community, which nearly lost structures in a 2015 fire, and support the Good Neighbor Authority program's goals of facilitating forest and watershed restoration partnerships with states and tribes.

The nulato tribal council will be the beneficiaries of this award. Nulato tribal council will use the award funds to hire qualified local workers and or other qualified workers to accomplish the fuels reduction projects, which will aid in protecting communities and critical infrastructure.wildfire is a major local environmental characteristic that poses a threat to nulato, and as the frequency of wildfires increase so does this threat. Protection from wildfire has long been a concern in the community. In 2015, the community was nearly lost when wildfire surrounded nulato. From that fire a fuel break was constructed around 1 3RD of the hillside site of the community. The firebreaks is now run over from tall dry grass and is in danger of being lost if not maintained as the vegetation is growing back in the form of brush and trees. The community lacks viable fuel breaks outside of town and needs to maintain existing breaks that surround part of the community. The main priority of this project will be to maintain the existing fuel breaks and create several new fuel breaks to protect the community from wildfire. The second part of the project is to create defensible space around residential homes, community buildings, and critical infrastructure. The methodology of firewise will be used to remove trees and burnable vegetation around these structures. Firewise is a cooperative effort among local, state and federal agencies, and organizations to promote fire safety in the wildland urban interface. The program adapts especially well to small communities, developments, and residential home associations of all types.