The purpose of the community wildfire defense grant is to assist at-risk local communities and indian tribes with planning for and mitigating against the risk created by wildfires

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service Region 8–Southern Region awarded Texas A&M Forest Service $15.718 million on December 11, 2025, under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Community Wildfire Defense Grants program (CFDA 10.720) to pass through funding to three sub-recipients conducting hazardous fuels mitigation and community wildfire defense work in Texas counties.

Pecan Bayou Soil and Water Conservation District received funding to hire staff for grant administration, outreach to targeted landowners, and post-treatment assessments, and to mechanically treat 17,500 acres over the grant term on public and private land in Brown County, guided by the Brown County Community Wildfire Protection Plan project priority tiers. Hill Country Fire Coalition of Texas received funding to conduct community outreach through workshops and digital and printed materials, provide property assessments targeting 3,800 properties across Kendall County, remove approximately 15,000 tons of woody biomass from defensible space and roadside fuels reduction projects in high-risk areas, and collaborate with legislators and the insurance industry to develop risk reduction incentives. Bastrop County Emergency Services District #2 received funding to hire full-time and seasonal staff for fuels mitigation, prescribed burning, fire prevention outreach, and equipment operations; conduct mechanical hazardous fuels mitigation treating 240 acres to protect 248 structures and prescribed fire support for 6,500 acres; host quarterly debris disposal days; and implement wildfire education, assessment, and outreach programs including risk assessments and defensible space projects for 125 residences in moderate to extreme wildfire risk areas.

The award period runs through December 10, 2030. Performance occurs in Texas.

There are two primary project types for which the grant provides funding: the development and revising of community wildfire protection plans (CWPP), and the implementation of projects described in a CWPP that is less than ten years old. The statue prioritizes at-risk communities that are in an area identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, are low-income, and/or have been impacted by a severe disaster. The grant is for the pass through funds to the community wildfire defense grant (CWDG) to OPT-in states for the successful CWDG round #3 recipients in their respective states.