Biden-Harris administration provides nearly $11 million to advance wildfire research

The Joint Interagency Fire Science Program announced its FY 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for wildfire research priorities. Nearly $11 million will be awarded to federal, state, tribal and local governments, other tribal entities, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations and private groups to advance wildfire research and exchange scientists. This opportunity is supported by a combination of funds allocated each year and the Biden-Harris administration's bipartisan infrastructure law.

The Joint Fire Science Program provides funding and scientific services for scientific studies associated with the management of wildfires, fuels and fire-affected ecosystems to meet the emerging needs of managers, practitioners and decision-makers policies, from local to national level.

“Land managers are increasingly faced with the challenge of responding to the complex wildfire environment. It is therefore important to understand the science behind wildfires to improve decisions and apply scientifically proven solutions on the ground. » said Coleen Haskell, joint fire science program manager.

In 1998, Congress directed the United States Department of the Interior and the Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture to develop a joint fire science program and plan to prioritize and to provide sound scientific studies to help land management agencies and other stakeholders address problems associated with wildfires.

The Joint Fire Science Program advances effective and efficient land management tools and practices, such as the Interagency Fuels Treatment Decision Support System, the Fire Risk Assessment Tool COVID-19 and fuel processing efficiency research.

This year, the Joint Fire Science Program is seeking proposals from government and non-government entities in three areas: primary, graduate research innovation, and regional fire science exchange. Details of the proposal are available in the “Funding” tab on firescience.gov. The following topics are included in the tender for fiscal year 2025:

Primary

The Primary announcement solicits proposals focused on:

1. Accelerate the implementation of science in fire-prone ecosystems: driving adaptation innovation through knowledge exchange and local partnerships;
2. Cultural burning: filling conventional science gaps with indigenous knowledge and the relationship between cultural burning and wildfire resilience/risk
3. Interactions between invasive plants and fire regimes and integration of invasive species into wildfire fuel models, risk assessments, and other decision support tools; And
4. Social equity and wildfire impacts, mitigation, response and recovery.

The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to award up to $6 million in funding for FY 2025 in this category.

Higher Research Innovation (GRIN)

In the second category, the Joint Fire Science Program invites current master's and doctoral students enrolled at colleges or universities in the United States and studying in the field of wildfire or related physical, biological, or social sciences to apply for a Graduate Diploma in Research Innovation (GRIN). ) price. Proposals that will address:

• Fuel management and fire behavior;
• Change in fire environment;
• Emissions and air quality;
• Effects of fire and post-fire recovery;
• Relative impacts of prescribed burns versus wildfires; And
• Human dimensions of fire.

The BLM plans to award between $300,000 and $500,000 in funding for fiscal year 2025 in this category.

Regional Fire Science Exchange

The Joint Fire Science Program is also seeking proposals for the regional fire science exchange.. The exchange announcement aims to lead and execute a regional fire science exchange in five geographic areas: Alaska, the Great Basin, the Northern Rockies, the Northwest, and the Pacific.

The BLM expects to award nearly $4,100,000 in funding for fiscal year 2025 through this announcement, based on the availability of program funding.

The Fire Science Exchange Network is a national collaboration of 15 regional fire science exchanges that provides the most relevant and current wildfire science information to federal, state, local, tribal, and private land managers in regional ecologically similar. It brings together fire managers, scientists and other stakeholders to address regional fire management needs and challenges.

Proposals must be submitted by September 19, 2024, via For any questions regarding these funding opportunities, please contact Coleen Haskell, JFSP Program Manager, at [email protected] or (986)-217-7782.