COLLEGE STATION – Central Texas landowners can apply April 1, 2023 for the State Fire Assistance for Mitigation (SFAM) Mechanical Fuels Reduction Grant to help reduce risks posed to their property by wildfire.
The grant offers financial assistance to landowners to reduce fuels at high-risk for wildfire by using fuel reduction practices.
Funding will be provided to eligible public and private landowners for reimbursement of costs associated with hand-cut fuel breaks using chainsaws or mechanical mulching using mechanical brush cutters, forestry mulchers, and similar equipment.
Fuel breaks are modified sections of vegetation that can decrease intensity of fires, protect first responders via wider access lanes, and inhibit or slow incoming wildfires.
Thirty-two counties in Central Texas are eligible for funding of costs not to exceed $750 per acre for hand-cut fuel breaks or $2,000 per acre for mulched fuel breaks. The maximum reimbursement for either method is $10,000.
Applications are due April 30, 2023.