This project will develop community wildfire protection plans to help defend 516,929 acres of maine communities from catastrophic wildfires

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry received a $258,251 Project Grant award dated August 6, 2025, under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Community Wildfire Defense Grants program (CFDA 10.720), administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The project will develop two comprehensive Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) covering 516,929 acres across Maine: one for the Southeast Washington County/Downeast region (128,318 acres) and one for the Katahdin region (388,611 acres). These plans will serve as strategic blueprints for community wildfire mitigation, encompassing hazardous fuel reduction, evacuation planning, fire prevention activities, structure hardening measures, defensible space creation, workforce training, and support for prescribed fire and mechanical fuel removal efforts.

Execution of this multi-year initiative extends through September 30, 2029, recognizing the phased approach required for comprehensive planning, stakeholder partnership development, and seasonal implementation constraints. The extended timeline accommodates the planning processes and limited staff capacity necessary to develop actionable, community-focused wildfire protection strategies that align with the program's emphasis on protecting at-risk communities in wildland-urban interface areas from catastrophic wildfire damage.

These plans provide a blueprint for actions, strategies, and projects to handle evacuations, reduce hazardous fuels, conduct fire prevention, structure hardening, creating defensible space, training of all types, and supplies for prescribed fire and mechanical fuel removal. This project would develop two plans: one for southeast washington county, also known as the downeast region, covering 128,318 acres; and one for the katahdin region covering 388,611 acres. This is a multi-year project as the work can't all be accomplished in a single year due to the planning, partnership, and seasonal work required and limited staff capacity.