USDA Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG)

National Level Program information: Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program | US Forest Service
Community Wildfire Defense Grants help communities and Tribes plan for and reduce wildfire risk and implement the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. Launched in 2022, the $1 billion five-year competitive grant program funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act prioritizes communities that:

• Are located in an area officially categorized as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential,

• Where median county household income is lower than 80% of California median household income, or

• Have been impacted by a severe disaster within the previous 10 years which increased wildfire risk and/or hazard.

Tuolumne County Community Wildfire Defense Project

For updates on the Tuolumne County CWDG project, please click to join the: 
Tuolumne County CWDG Mailing List

USDA awarded $10,000,000 to facilitate defensible space work on residential parcels in three communities, and roadside vegetation management on 22.67 miles of road. The project includes public outreach to create additional Firewise Communities and other fire adaptive cohorts within at-risk and low-income communities in Tuolumne County. 
For defensible space clearing, scheduling preference will be given to clusters of 5 or more adjacent parcels on the community perimeter, however ALL residential parcels in the project areas are eligible to participate. 

Current Project Area (map links):  Cedar Ridge, Mi-Wuk Village, Columbia (Yankee Hill side)

Event(s): TBD - local information meetings to introduce the program are anticipated for October/November 2025

Participants may review the Right-of-Entry (ROE) permit, and email questions to: CWDG@co.tuolumne.ca.us

Defensible Space Contractors: Qualified businesses may register to receive automatic notification for opportunities to contract with Tuolumne County via RFQ/RFP process: OpenGov.com Registration

*For communities outside the three CWDG project areas, please see Tuolumne Firesafe Council Grant for information about additional financial assistance opportunities and local landscape services providers.