Funding provided via the infrastructure investment and jobs act state forest action grant for state forest action plan implementation will enable the state of montana to maintain and build capacity to…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Northern Region awarded $885,030 to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation on July 13, 2026, under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance program (CFDA 10.664) to implement the Montana Forest Action Plan through improved capacity for cross-boundary forest management, fuels treatments, and forest health work in priority landscapes.

The funding supports added staff capacity to coordinate and guide implementation of forest management projects across Montana's 3.8 million acres of priority forest identified in the 2020 Montana Forest Action Plan, including 507,611 acres within the wildland-urban interface and 123,240 acres containing drinking water sources. Deliverables include planning and coordination of collaborative fuels treatments and forest health improvements to reduce wildfire risk to communities, along with technical assistance and outreach to landowners and communities on forest health management and wildfire risk mitigation in the wildland-urban interface.

Work is performed throughout Montana with a period of performance through May 31, 2031. The Cooperative Forestry Assistance program provides funding to State Forestry Agencies and other eligible entities to advance forest resources management and conservation on non-federal forest and rural lands, with grants available for up to five years.

Funding provided via the infrastructure investment and jobs act state forest action grant for state forest action plan implementation will enable the state of montana to maintain and build capacity to effectively plan, coordinate, and implement collaborative, cross-boundary forest management activities to improve urban and wildland forest health and reduce wildfire risk across priority landscapes. Forests comprise one-fourth of montana's total area. The 2020 montana forest action plan identified 3.8 million acres of forest as priority areas for focused attention due to elevated fire risk and degraded forest health attributed to insects and disease. In these high-priority areas, 507,611 acres are within the wildland urban interface and 123,240 acres contain drinking water sources; all would benefit from active forest management. By coordinating and implementing cross-boundary fuels treatments and forest health improvement in priority areas, the montana forest action plan program will continue to reduce risk of wildfire to communities and improve forest health across montana. Additionally, technical assistance and outreach will empower landowners and communities to address forest health and understand the risks and responsibilities of living with fire within the wildland urban interface. Funding will be used primarily to support added capacity for staff who will continue to work with partners and collaborative groups to plan, coordinate, and guide implementation of montana forest action plan projects in priority landscapes throughout montana.