Arizona Department Of Forestry And Fire Management

Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, doing business as FOA, is a state government entity and child of the State of Arizona that acts as a federal grant recipient (99% of its recent awards are prime grants) delivering forest management, wildfire mitigation, hazardous fuels reduction, and community protection services across Arizona's approximately 22 million acres of forests, woodlands, and grasslands. The organization operates exclusively in the federal grant space—it holds no federal contracts and does not compete under set-asides—focusing instead on cooperative agreements and project grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FOA's federal footprint centers on three dominant customer agencies that account for 90% of recent awards. The Department of Agriculture Forest Service Region 3 (Southwestern Region) is the primary grantor, issuing 91 awards spanning multiple programs including the State & Private Forestry Cooperative Fire Assistance program (CFDA 10.698), the Hazardous Fuel Reduction Program (CFDA 10.697), the Forest Legacy Program (CFDA 10.676), the Good Neighbor Authority program (CFDA 10.691), and the Cooperative Forestry Assistance program (CFDA 10.664). The Department of Agriculture Forest Service broadly accounts for 23 additional awards, while the Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters Financial Assistance Awards program (CFDA 97.046) has issued 17 grants for facility repair and replacement following wildfire disasters. The Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management contributes a small but recurring set of cooperative agreements for vegetation treatment and restoration projects.

Representative recent work illustrates FOA's grant portfolio across multiple programs. A $1.263 million State & Private Forestry Cooperative Fire Assistance award (August 2026, through September 2029) funds firefighter safety improvements, initial attack capability enhancements, training, equipment, and statewide wildfire prevention messaging in partnership with federal, state, and local fire agencies. A $4.048 million Good Neighbor Authority cooperative agreement (July 2026, through December 2032) funds hazardous fuels reduction through timber sales on 3,387 acres and hand thinning on 2,710 acres to meet Forest Restoration Initiative targets and protect watersheds. A $6.35 million Cooperative Forestry Assistance award (September 2025, through August 2030) consolidates six integrated programs—Forest Stewardship, Forest Health Protection, Urban & Community Forestry, Landscape Scale Restoration, State Fire Assistance, and Volunteer Fire Assistance—with FOA administering sub-awards to partners including the Arizona Community Tree Council and local governments. FOA also holds a $2.95 million Forest Legacy Program conservation easement award (August 2025, through July 2030) for the Sonoita Creek Wildlife Corridor Phase 3 project protecting 756 acres of riparian forest and wildlife habitat. FEMA has awarded multiple project grants totaling over $9 million for facility repair and replacement following wildfire disasters in Phoenix between 2021 and 2026.

Activity declined modestly over the past five years, from 15 awards in 2022 to 10 awards in 2026, indicating a slower recent pace. The combined potential value across all 155 awards in the source totals $13 thousand, though the combined dollars obligated across awards stands at $305.8 million, reflecting substantial federal investment in Arizona's forestry and wildfire mitigation infrastructure—many awards are fully or largely obligated before entry into the source data. FOA issues sub-awards to local governments, fire districts, universities, and non-profit organizations; recent sub-award recipients include the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (invasive species management), the University of Arizona (forest health assessments), the City of Scottsdale (fuel reduction on Tonto National Forest adjacent lands), and the Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority (community wildfire protection planning). Twenty awards are scheduled for ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing the recompete pipeline for fiscal 2026 and 2027 federal forestry and fire management funding.