Grant recipients in this program will be reimbursed for actual costs up to $80 per acre for establishing a cool season fire break on their property. Work may be conducted by a hired contractor of the landowner’s choosing or by the landowner themselves. Previous work conducted before agreement has been signed and a notice to proceed letter has been issued, will not be accepted. Individual landowners may submit more than one application. Only one application can be approved per landowner. If more applications are received than funding that is available, the applications will be reviewed on a competitive ranking system based on wildfire risk reduction criteria.

 Cool Season Fire Break Grant Application Packet

Send completed PDF applications by email to csfb@tfs.tamu.edu.

This grant is competitive, and selection will be based on the goal of reducing wildfire risk to homes. Applications for the grant will open for the month of June and application reviews will begin in July. The applications will be reviewed by Texas A&M Forest Service Fuels Team and approved/declined based on the intent of the grant. Approval or declined notification letters for applicates will be mailed by July 31st. 

The landowner is required to complete all questions on the application to be considered. The packet requires a map of the proposed project area displaying property owner’s boundary, location of proposed fuel treatment or fuel break, dimensions of treatment, and landowner name with aerial imagery as map background. A Texas A&M Forest Service employee can assist landowners in creating an adequate map if the landowner has questions. The Map My Property application from Texas A&M Forest Service’s Texas Forest Info website, is an easy method to produce an adequate map. 

If an application is received and approved, the landowner will receive an acceptance letter with a W-9 Tax Form and a program Terms of Conditions Form to be signed and returned to Texas A&M Forest Service. Once all documents are received by Texas A&M Forest Service, the landowner will receive a letter with a “Notice to Proceed” with a pre-inspection. Only after the pre-inspection has been completed, may work begin.

A Texas A&M Forest Service staff member will reach out to schedule the pre-inspection. The Texas A&M Forest Service employee will take pre-treatment photos, confirm the dimensions of your project, and answer any remaining questions about the grant process. 

After planting, the landowner will contact Texas A&M Forest Service to schedule a post-inspection visit which will verify the work dimensions have been completed. The post-inspection will calculate acreage and verify minimum dimensions were met in the approved location. After the post-inspection, the landowner must submit their receipts and invoices for reimbursement. Once the post-inspection is conducted and the reimbursement forms have been submitted, Texas A&M Forest Service will process all documentation and mail or direct deposit your reimbursement check.

• Wide fuel breaks in strategic locations are one of the safest way for firefighters and suppression aircraft to work safely and successfully to contain a wind driven wildfire.
• In winter and early spring when wildfires often occur on the Texas plains cool season grasses are actively growing and not susceptible to die-back.
• These plants also provide increased forage for wildlife and livestock in winter and production of hay in late spring.
• Constructing firebreaks prior to a wildfire is a well-established technique, but wide patches of bare ground offer poor forage value and contribute to erosion.
• Planting cool season vegetation into firebreaks increased organic matter, soil moisture, and overall stability of the soil when compared to only disking or blading to create a fire break or bare dirt field. 

• This program requires these linear shaped fire breaks to be a minimum of 300 feet wide (3X maximum flame lengths). Whole field planting is allowable but maximum width (smaller side of the rectangular treatment area) cannot be more than 1,000 ft.
• Maximum reimbursement per landowner is $8,000.00 which equates to 100 acres (examples: 300 ft by 14,553 ft or 1,000 ft by 4,356 ft)
• The program requires disking/tillage of the site if it is not already free of vegetation. Planting may be done by broadcast and re-disking but use of a grain drill to maximize seed to soil contact is preferred.
• Use of rubber tire equipment to mow/bush hog or otherwise prepare the site is an allowable expense.
• Brush clearing with heavy machinery, herbicide, fertilization, irrigation, fencing, and purchase of equipment are not required practices and are not eligible for reimbursement but are allowable at the discretion of the landowner and at the landowner’s expense.
• Prescribed burning/crop burning is not an acceptable method for removing the vegetation under the terms and conditions.
• Grazing is allowable after establishment at the landowner’s discretion.
• Haying, harvesting, grazing, or plowing under are required between May 1 and July 30 (warm season following planting) as part of the terms and conditions. This reduces the chance grasses becoming summer cured and contributing to fires.
• Consider using annual native species that don’t add to unnecessary build-up of thatch into the spring/summer growing season
• Eligible cool season grasses for planting in this program are: Cereal Grains (Oats, Wheat, Rye), Annual Rye grass, native cool season annual grasses, or cool season legumes.
• Not Eligible to be planted on the project acres during the September 30 to December 30 planting window: Corn, soybean, peanuts, sorghum, Sudan, haygrazers, Johnson grass, and commercial sunflower.
• Invoices listing itemized costs are required at time of reimbursement. Reimbursement cannot exceed $80 per acre.
• Cost Reimbursement Reporting Form must be used with list of requested items for reimbursement.
• Items/costs eligible for reimbursement are limited to: 1) Services of a contractor 2) Seed 3) Equipment rental 4) Fuel 5) Lubricants 6) Filters.