Wildfire Risk Mitigation Grants Available to You
According to the Colorado State Forest Service, more than 1 million live in areas with moderate to very high risk of wildfire.
For those individuals that own property in the Colorado wildland-urban interface area, there are multiple ways to get some money back while protecting your home from potential disaster. One of the best examples of programs that fund property owners that perform wildlife mitigation measures is Income 65. This bill has made it so individuals, estates, and trusts may claim a subtraction on their Colorado income tax return of either 50% or 100% depending on the tax year. The total subtraction you can claim per tax year is limited to $2500. Essentially this makes it so you can potentially hire wildfire mitigation landscaping service for 50% or completely free!
The wildfire mitigation measures that qualify for this grant have been determined by the Colorado State Forest Service and the Division of Fire Prevention and Control:
Creating a defensible space around structures
Establishing fuel breaks
Thinning of woody vegetation for the primary purpose of reducing risk to structures from wildland fire
Secondary treatment of woody fuels by lopping and scattering, piling, chipping, removing from the site or prescribed burning
The best part about these measures is that most of them overlap with standard landscaping services you may find yourself looking for in the spring, summer, and fall. While more than 1 million live in areas with moderate to very high risk of wildfire, over 3 million Colorado taxpayers live in the wildland-urban interface and could be eligible to take advantage of this. As long as you keep the receipt, and the services were paid as an out-of-pocket expense by the property owner primarily for wildfire mitigation, you can check the following to see if you qualify:
Payment to a contractor to perform wildfire mitigation measures
The cost of a chainsaw if purchased primarily for wildfire mitigation measures
The cost to rent an all-terrain vehicle, truck, tractor, or trailer if rented primarily to perform wildfire mitigation measures.
For more information, see Colorado.gov
If you’re one of the following, you may also be eligible to receive a Forest Restoration & Wildfire Risk Mitigation Grant:
Local government entities including counties, municipalities, fire protection districts and other special districts in or within close proximity to the WUI (wildland-urban interface)
Public or private utilities, including water providers, with infrastructure or land ownership in areas with high risk of catastrophic wildfires
State agencies, such as the State Land Board and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, that own land in areas with high risk of catastrophic wildfires
Non-profit groups that promote hazardous forest fuel reduction treatment projects or are engaged in firefighting or fire management activities
Local community groups, including registered homeowner associations and formal neighborhood associations, that are located within or are in close proximity to the WUI
This grant is used to encourage community-level actions across the state to reduce the risk of wildfire to people, property and infrastructure in the WUI, promote forest health, and encourage use of woody material for traditional forest products/biomass energy.
These funds have helped launch 31 projects in 2023. To apply for the 2024-2025 FRWRM grant, the applications open August 1st, 2024 and close October 10th. On March 31st of this year, one of the grant winners included an HOA that was awarded over $140,000. The largest grant awarded for 2023-2024 was worth over $500,000. For more information, check out Colorado State Forest Service