BLM AK Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Community Fire Assistance | L19AS00104

Opportunity Information: Apply for L19AS00104

The BLM AK Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Community Fire Assistance grant is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), designed to help Alaska communities reduce the risk of catastrophic wildland fire where homes, infrastructure, and wildlands meet (the wildland-urban interface). The program sits under the broader National Fire Plan launched in 2001, which focuses on proactive work that lowers fire danger, improves local readiness, and supports community-driven prevention and mitigation.

This opportunity funds projects that directly reduce hazardous fuels and strengthen a community's ability to prepare for and respond to wildfire threats. Eligible activities include hazardous fuels reduction work on federal lands or on adjacent nonfederal lands when the work meaningfully reduces the threat to communities and natural resources in high-risk areas. The opportunity also supports the related training, monitoring, and maintenance needed to keep fuels work effective over time, which is often a critical piece of making treatment areas more than a one-time effort. In addition to on-the-ground mitigation, the grant emphasizes community programs that build local capability, such as wildfire risk assessments, planning efforts, and practical mitigation actions that follow from those plans. Another major focus is community and homeowner education, including action plans that help residents understand defensible space, home hardening, evacuation readiness, and steps they can take to reduce ignition risk around structures.

A notable goal of the program is to enhance local and small business employment opportunities, meaning applicants that can demonstrate local workforce involvement, use of local contractors, or economic benefits tied to mitigation work may align well with the intent of the funding. While the announcement is specific to Alaska (BLM AK), it is structured to support partnerships and cooperative, community-based implementation rather than purely internal government work.

The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates that BLM expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, coordination, technical input, or shared oversight), rather than simply issuing funds and stepping back. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 15.228 and was posted as Funding Opportunity Number L19AS00104.

Applicants eligible to apply include a broad mix of public and nonprofit entities: state, county, and city/township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations (excluding institutions of higher education under that nonprofit category). This eligibility set suggests the program is intended to be accessible to local governments, tribal entities, and community-based organizations that can plan and deliver wildfire risk reduction work.

In terms of funding scale and timing, the award ceiling listed is $120,000 per award, with an anticipated total of about 5 awards. The application window in the notice ran from August 8, 2019 through October 7, 2019, with two rolling cut-off dates: Round One applications were due September 7, 2019 at 4:30 PM Alaska Standard Time, and Round Two applications were due October 7, 2019 at 4:30 PM Alaska Standard Time. Overall, this opportunity is aimed at tangible WUI fire risk reduction and community readiness outcomes, pairing fuels mitigation and maintenance with planning, education, and local capacity building to help communities reduce losses and improve resilience ahead of severe fire seasons.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BLM AK Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Community Fire Assistance" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.228.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 08, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 07, 2019 Rolling cut-off dates Open from August 8, 2019 to October 7, 2019 Round One Applications Due September 7, 2019, 430 PM AKST Round Two Applications Due October 7, 2019, 430 PM AKST. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $120,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for L19AS00104

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