This project provides funding for communities to plan for and identify priority projects to reduce wildfire risk

Kansas State University received a $340,200 Project Grant award dated June 25, 2025, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Region 2 (Rocky Mountain Region), under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Community Wildfire Defense Grants program (CFDA 10.720). The award funds the development of three Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) for Butler, Chase, and Leavenworth Counties in Kansas. These plans will identify priority projects and strategies to reduce wildfire risk in at-risk communities within these counties, with a performance period extending through July 14, 2029.

The deliverables under this grant consist of comprehensive planning documents that will guide wildfire mitigation efforts across the three targeted Kansas counties. The CWPPs developed through this funding will provide communities with actionable plans for hazardous fuel reduction, defensible space creation, and landscape restoration activities designed to enhance community resilience to wildfire threats. As a land-grant institution with demonstrated expertise in natural resource management and forestry research, Kansas State University is well-positioned to provide the technical and planning services necessary to assess wildfire hazards and develop community-based strategies for wildfire risk reduction on non-federal lands.

This community wildfire defense grant project will develop three community wildfire protection plans for butler, chase and leavenworth counties in the state of kansas.