Colorado wildfire-mitigation grant applications open Monday with new online system

Colorado communities and eligible organizations can begin applying Monday, Aug. 3, for approximately $7.04 million in competitive state wildfire-mitigation grants. Applications are due by 5 p.m. MDT Thursday, Oct. 8.

The Colorado State Forest Service’s 2026-27 Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation grant cycle will support projects that reduce wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface, promote forest health and prepare communities for work across multiple properties. The funding is competitive; submitting an application does not guarantee an award.

New online system and Aug. 5 webinar

Applicants must submit proposals through a new online grant-management platform. Instructions for accessing the application will be posted when the request for applications opens Monday.

The Forest Service will hold a webinar at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, to introduce the program, share proposal-development resources and explain how to submit applications through the new system. A recording will be available afterward.

The agency recommends that applicants contact their local Colorado State Forest Service field office early. Field offices may discuss project details and feasibility and provide technical or application support on a first-come, first-served basis as time allows.

Who can apply

Eligible applicants include local community groups such as homeowners, neighborhood and property associations; counties, municipalities, fire protection districts and other special districts; public or private utilities and water providers; state agencies; federally recognized tribes or tribal organizations; and qualifying nonprofits working with local, state or private entities on hazardous-fuels reduction projects.

Individual property owners cannot submit stand-alone projects under this cycle. They may apply only when their project is developed with an eligible partner and the work provides benefits beyond their own property, such as reducing wildfire risk to a broader community or surrounding landscape.

Projects must be located in Colorado, primarily address wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface and benefit more than one individual property. Applicants must identify and confirm participating landowners and specific treatment locations before filing.

What the grants can fund

The CSFS estimates that approximately $7.04 million will be available for the cycle, including up to $2 million for capacity-building projects. The agency may provide full or partial funding to successful applicants.

Eligible fuels and forest-health work can include defensible space around homes, fuelbreaks, mechanical thinning, prescribed fire, slash removal, forest restoration and replanting in areas affected by wildfire, insects, disease or other large-scale disturbances.

Projects also may protect water supplies, watersheds, infrastructure and other high-value assets. Capacity-building proposals can support staffing, planning, partnerships, equipment such as community wood chippers, outreach directly tied to fuels reduction and development of local wildfire-protection plans.

The grants do not cover permanent infrastructure such as buildings or roads, policy advocacy, fire-preparedness or fire-suppression equipment, or projects benefiting only one property. Capacity-building activities must support future fuels-reduction or forest-health work; general education unrelated to those activities is not eligible.

Applicants must bring matching support

Most applicants must provide a 1:1 match. No more than half of total project costs may come from the grant, and at least half must come from matching contributions. Match may include cash, donated equipment, supplies, volunteer labor or other eligible in-kind support.

Projects located partly or fully in an area identified by the Colorado Forest Atlas Social Vulnerability Index as having fewer economic resources may qualify for a reduced 25% match. Under that option, the grant may cover up to 75% of total project costs. The exception is conditional: applicants must show a meaningful connection between the project’s activities and benefits and the affected area. Location alone is not enough.

Applicants must identify and confirm matching contributions before applying. They also must coordinate with county officials and include a signed county letter confirming support and consistency with county-level wildfire-risk planning. Proposals must include a required one-page project-area map, identify landowners and treatment units, and provide a plan for removing and using woody material generated by the work.

What happens after applications are filed

An independent Technical Advisory Panel will score applications and recommend projects to the CSFS State Forester, who will make the final funding decisions.

Pre-award notifications are scheduled for Feb. 10, 2027, followed by final award notifications on March 31, 2027. The project-completion deadline is March 31, 2031.

The program is reimbursement-based. Award recipients generally must incur eligible costs during the award period, complete approved work, provide required documentation and demonstrate the approved match before receiving reimbursement. Recipients also must submit spatial project data and a final report and allow CSFS monitoring before and after treatment.

Colorado legislative budget documents describe an $8 million annual General Fund appropriation for the program and say demand has exceeded available funding in past cycles. That appropriation is broader budget context and is not the same as the CSFS estimate of approximately $7.04 million available in this application cycle.

In the previous round, CSFS received 73 eligible applications and awarded $8.5 million to 35 projects in 24 counties. The funded work included defensible-space treatments, hazardous-fuels reduction, watershed protection, evacuation-route safety and capacity-building efforts.

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