Enhance montana's capacity for wildfire preparedness, effective response, and community engagement by supporting collaborative efforts among state, federal, and local partners

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service R1-Northern Region awarded the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation $398,400 under the State & Private Forestry Cooperative Fire Assistance program (CFDA 10.698) on July 1, 2026, for a project spanning statewide Montana from July 1, 2026 through May 31, 2031.

The funding supports wildfire preparedness, response, and community engagement through collaborative efforts among state, federal, and local partners. Deliverables include fire equipment development, safety and training, fire planning, wildfire operations, and implementation of community wildfire protection plans to reduce risk at community-wide scale. The project provides homeowner education and resources to help communities prepare for wildfires and is guided by Montana's Forest Action Plan and Montana Wildfire Risk Assessment. Work focuses on approximately 500,000 acres in the wildland-urban interface, identified as high-risk priority areas. Montana's wildland-urban interface represents only 1.5 percent of the state's land area but contains 63 percent of all homes in the state.

The scope includes fire equipment development, safety and training efforts, fire planning, wildfire operations, and the implementation of community wildfire protection plans plans to reduce wildfire risk at a community wide scale. The project aims to help communities prepare for wildfires by providing homeowner education and resources. The project is guided by montana's forest action plan and the montana wildfire risk assessment, which prioritize wildfire risk reduction and community adaptation. The project will take place statewide in montana, focusing on priority areas identified as high risk for wildfires in the montana forest action plan and montana wildfire risk assessment. Priority areas identified include approximately 500,000 acres in the wildland urban interface. The wildland-urban interface in montana comprises only about 1.5 percent of the state's land area, yet IT contains 63 percent of all homes in the state.