The following cost-share programs are currently available through the Nebraska Forest Service. These programs are designed to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire in our coniferous forests and will cover a portion of landowner costs for a variety of fuels treatment practices, such as thinning trees, removing small-diameter trees and brush that form “ladder fuels,” piling and burning slash and debris from thinning operations and clearing defensible space around homes.
Several of these programs are currently limited to the Pine Ridge area of Nebraska. However, additional and increased funding is being sought for the growing wildfire threat in woodlands throughout Nebraska.
Adjacent Lands Fuels Reduction Grant–
This program is for fuels treatment projects on land that adjoins the Nebraska National Forest in the Pine Ridge. The grant currently pays $200 per acre toward fuels treatment work.
Western States Wildland Urban Interface Grant Program–
This is a 50/50 cost share program which pays half of the fuels treatment costs up to $350 per acre. The landowner’s 50 percent portion of the costs can be met through “in-kind” contributions, such as machinery use and labor. The grant is for projects in the Pine Ridge and the Niobrara Valley. The grant money designated for the Niobrara area is limited at this time; however, additional funding should be available later this year.
Nebraska Environmental Trust Grant–
The NET grant funds a three-year Pine Ridge ecosystem restoration program. The grant covers 75 percent of fuels reduction costs, up to $20,000 per project. The landowner’s 25 percent match must be in cash dollars.
Conservation Innovation Grant–
This grant is focused on stimulating bio-fuel production and use. It has the same payment structure as the NET grant described above, but requires that all slash and small-diameter trees removed during the fuels reduction treatment be chipped and burned at Chadron State College’s wood-fired boiler in order to determine yields and heat value. This grant is currently limited to land in the Pine Ridge.
For more information about cost-share assistance for fuels treatment projects, contact John Overstreet (308) 432-3179 or joverstreet1@unl.edu, Doak Nickerson (308) 632-1238 or hnickerson1@unl.edu or Don Westover (402) 472-6629 or dwestover1@unl.edu.
