Dammeron Valley receives over $200,000 in wildfire reduction funding

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah, Idaho, and Nevada, will be receiving additional funds from the USDA Forest Service to help reduce wildfire risk.

In 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service started a competitive grant program funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that would provide $1 billion over five years to reduce wildfire risk.

The funds from this program are meant to go to communities that have limited resources but have a high or very high wildfire hazard potential.

In 2025, USDA Forest Service received over 570 applications from 40 states, three U.S. territories, and 48 tribes of Alaska Native Corporations. In total, the grant applications requested $1.6 billion.

After careful review from panels made up of representatives from Tribes and state forestry agencies, 58 proposals were selected. Those proposals span 22 states and two tribes, and $200 million will be awarded across all selected projects.

“These grants are about putting resources in the hands of those that know their lands and communities best, so that they can better protect their families, businesses, infrastructure and the future of our shared landscape,” said USDA Secretary Brooke L. Rollins.

“Keeping forests healthy, resilient and productive doesn’t come from the top down, it comes from us standing alongside the people and communities we serve, and supporting practical, science-based management that ensures the future of the forests as well as rural prosperity,” Rollins added.

Intermountain Region Funding

$9.5 million will be awarded to fund four projects in the Intermountain Region, which includes Idaho, Nevada, and Utah.

“No single organization can tackle the severe fire conditions we face today. It is imperative that we work together to protect our forest and communities,” said USDA Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “For those communities that already have plans in place, these investments will enable immediate action to reduce wildfire risk.”

In Utah, $239,122 will be awarded to the Dammeron Valley Wildfire Fuels Mitigation & Community Education program. Earlier this year, the Forsyth fire broke out in Dammeron Valley and burned over 15,000 acres.

Like all of the projects funded by the grant program this year, the Dammeron Valley program received funding, because the area has high or very high wildfire hazard, is low income, and has been impacted by a severe disaster.

The other three programs receiving funds in the Intermountain Region are:

• Portneuf Valley Wildfire Risk reduction and Education Project, City of Pocatello: $4,836,555
• Glenbrook Community Defensible Space Projects, Glenbrook Homeowners Association (Nevada): $2,979,732
• Upper Kingsbury Fire Adapted Community, Nevada Tahoe Conservation District: $1,422,870

More information on these proposals and the grant program can be found here.