Mid-Atlantic Forest Fire Protection Compact

Mid-Atlantic Forest Fire Protection Compact, doing business as Mid-Atlantic Compact, is a U.S. interstate government entity headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey, that serves as a federal grant recipient for wildfire prevention, suppression, and fire management services across Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The Compact operates exclusively as a prime recipient under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service's State & Private Forestry Cooperative Fire Assistance program (CFDA 10.698) and does not hold federal contracts or serve as a federal contract subcontractor.

The Compact's federal grant work spans wildfire training program delivery, fire prevention education campaigns, firefighter safety enhancements, fire planning support, initial attack capacity building, mobilization readiness, equipment and technology development for regional firefighting capabilities, and technical assistance to state fire agencies. Recent representative awards include a $940,000 project grant awarded June 5, 2026, to address critical preparedness and hazard mitigation needs including firefighter safety, fire planning, firefighter training, initial attack capacity, and mobilization readiness across the five-state region (ultimate completion September 30, 2030); a $984,386 project grant awarded September 5, 2025, consolidating the State Fire Capacity Program, Volunteer Fire Capacity Program, and two Wildfire Risk Reduction Projects with performance through September 30, 2029; and a $445,000 award from March 3, 2023, supporting rural fire control, wildfire prevention and suppression on non-federal forestlands, prescribed burning, and fire management technology transfer (completion September 30, 2026). The Compact also received a project grant for a Smokey Bear graphic novel centered on wildfire prevention messaging for all fifty state forest fire prevention programs, awarded March 9, 2026, with completion September 30, 2029.

All 24 awards in the source derive from the Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Region 9–Eastern Region, with 14 awards attributed to the main Forest Service listing and 10 specifically to the R9–Eastern Region office. Combined obligated dollars across all awards total $8 million. Awards per year have remained modest and episodic—one award in 2021, one in 2023, two each in 2024 and 2025, and two in 2026—indicating a stable but not rapidly scaling federal footprint. The Compact operates exclusively through direct federal grant relationships rather than through federal contract vehicles, subcontracting arrangements, or commercial federal schedules.