Purpose
To support landowners in utilizing prescribed fire for ecological improvements within the Neches River and Cypress Basin watersheds while also protecting nearby high-risk communities.
Practices
Eligibility
Texas private landowners within communities located within the Neches River and Cypress Basin watersheds.
Application
Applications open onlineannually June 1 through July 14.
We will supply the grant recipient with an approval to burn letter when all required paperwork has been completed by recipient. Any burning on an approved project before receiving an approval to burn letter may not be eligible for reimbursement.
About
The Neches River & Cypress Basin Watershed Restoration Prescribed Fire Grant provides funding for prescribed burns that reduce hazardous fuels in and around communities, while also improving natural resources through enhanced water quality and quantity, invasive species control, and better wildlife habitat.
Treatment areas will be near communities within the Neches River and Cypress Basin watersheds in East Texas (see map for eligible counties). The prescribed burn must be completed by a private or commercial Certified and Insured Prescribed Burn Manager.
Priority will be given to prescribed burn treatments that promote native ecosystem restoration, are in priority watershed protection zones, and near public land.
Maximum total reimbursement per recipient
Grant recipients will be reimbursed actual per acre costs associated with conducting the prescribed burn not to exceed the maximum reimbursement rate of $22.50 per acre. No cost shares are involved with this grant program.
Application process
The prescribed burn must be completed by a Certified and Insured Prescribed Burn Manager.
Application packages must be submitted online by midnight July 14, or they will not be considered for funding. No faxes, mailed, hand delivered, or e-mailed applications will be accepted.
All applicants will receive a notification of decision letter of either approved or denied. No application deadline extensions will be granted.
Applicants must
- Complete all landowner information.
- Complete all contractor information, including the vendor’s TDA license number.
- Include a comprehensive burn plan along with the “Burn Unit Location” information. The burn boss must sign and date their submitted burn plan. See the Texas Department of Agriculture website for details of a comprehensive burn plan.
- Latitude and longitude of burn unit (degrees/minutes/seconds).
- County and physical address of burn unit location or distance and direction to nearest intersection.
- Burn unit boundary map showing proposed burn perimeter, acres to be burned, coordinates, and aerial or satellite imagery as background.
- Box must be checked certifying that the applicant is the landowner or has the expressed permission of the landowner to submit the application on their behalf.
Additional information
- Burn units that received payments in the previous grant process are not eligible for funding in the current grant.
- Multiple applications may be submitted per individual, but the grant is competitive, and selection will be based on the goal of reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire near communities. Name on application, grant agreement, and invoice for payment must match. Landowners who are also CIPBMs are not eligible to receive grant funding for a prescribed fire they conduct on their own property.
- We may contact and speak directly with the recipient’s burn vendor about burn dates after the recipient has received the approval to burn notification letter.
- Grant funds do not apply and will not be provided to reimburse charges for application or creation of burn plans by a private contractor.
- Grant funds will not be provided for equipment work or fire breaks that are itemized as a separate expense on the paid invoice.
- We may complete an on-site assessment prior to approval of the recipient’s application.
Approved applicants
- All grant documents including the agreement must be completed and signed by the applicant and approved by Texas A&M Forest Service before the prescribed burn can take place.
- We will make a short site documentation visit and take pre-burn photos of vegetation condition along with a final post burn inspection and photos of vegetation after the burn.
- We will supply the recipient with an approval to burn letter when all paperwork has been completed by recipient. Any burning on an approved project prior to receiving this notice may forfeit recipient’s prescribed burn funding.
- No exchange of land tracts will be allowed. Reimbursement is made only upon an approved contracted land tract.
- The recipient’s burn contractor should notify us at least 24 hours prior to the prescribed burn taking place. This notification does not represent agency approval of the safety of the project, any review of environmental conditions, or liability for the burn manager’s decision to conduct the prescribed burn.
- Following the prescribed burn taking place, the recipient’s burn contractor should notify us and provide the number of acres that were treated and will be billed to the landowner. We will conduct a post-burn inspection promptly to verify the treatment acreage.