Funding Opportunities

The subrecipient shall access the current utilization of CHWs in the State of Arizona. The subrecipient shall use results to inform and develop a statewide CHW workforce development plan to expand CHW curricula, training delivery, career ladders, integration of CHWs, promotion of CHW voluntary certification, and/or sustainable payment mechanisms for CHW services.

All work supported under this Grant will focus on reducing health disparities for the populations across the state impacted by the high prevalence of cardiovascular (CVD), exacerbated by health inequities and disparities, social determinants, such as low incomes, poor health care, and unfair opportunity structures.

The State of Arizona, USDA Forest Service and DOI Bureau of Land Management are expected to provide funding assistance to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management for fire prevention, critical infrastructure protection and forest and watershed restoration through reduction of hazardous vegetation from state, federal, tribal and private lands in Arizona.

Total funding of approximately $3 million will be made available through sub-awards (grants) from DFFM on a reimbursement basis and awarded through a competitive process with emphasis on community protection and forest health. Multiple awards not exceeding $500,000 are expected. Organizations may submit more than one project application, but total funding may be limited to $500,000. Priority will be given to projects that support private industry and/or Arizona’s wood products industry. Priority will be given to projects that have not received prior treatments.

The HFI Grant Program focuses on fire prevention, critical infrastructure protection, and forest and watershed restoration through reduction of hazardous vegetation. Projects should complement strategically planned or existing fuels management initiatives, such as State of Arizona, US Forest Service, or Bureau of Land Management thinning projects. Priority will be given to projects that target high risk areas, have a clear sustainability plan, and that support Arizona's vegetation management, and/or wood product industries.

Eligible applicants include, fire departments and fire districts, government organizations - including state, county, and local - public educational institutions, 501 (c) non-profit organizations, and Indian Tribes. Private landowners qualify if working through one of the eligible applicants listed above, but cannot directly apply. For-profit companies do not qualify. Projects may occur on state, private, federal, and tribal lands in Arizona.

Fuels mitigation is a vital component to reducing the threat of wildfires across Arizona. But, it also protects the health of our forests by removing diseased vegetation, invasive species, and dense fuel. Plus, fuels reduction work aids in the health of our watersheds and our wildlife habitat.

Non-native, invasive plants are a major threat across the state of Arizona. They recognize no borders and occur across all land ownerships. Non-native invasive plants change the natural fire regime, alter watersheds, degrade wildlife habitat, out-compete native vegetation and crops, and destroy the natural beauty of the Arizona landscape.

Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, with funding provided by the State of Arizona and US Forest Service, is soliciting project proposals from $10,000-200,000 to treat invasive plant infestations that threaten Arizona's lands and waters.

Program Objectives
DFFM's Invasive Plant Grant program focuses on prevention, control, and eradication of invasive plants and aims to achieve the following objectives:

Target and treat invasive plants that are capable of transforming native plant communities in forests, woodlands, or rangelands
Assist in preventing fire and flooding, conserving water, and restoring habitat to wildlife
Increase local capacity to manage and prevent encroachment of invasive plants
Use an integrated weed management approach when treating areas infested with invasive plants through the utilization of available tools, including manual, cultural, mechanical, chemical, and biological control methods. Reseeding and planting native vegetation are also components of an invasive plant project

The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management is currently accepting applications for the Urban Forestry Program's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Grant Program. The IRA Grants are to be used to improve community forest conditions and access to disadvantaged communities, address the backlog of local community forestry work, and position Arizona’s community forests as a valuable piece of mitigating climate change impacts and urban heat.. Projects should be aimed at improving the long-term health and care of the urban forest, or at initiating new urban forestry projects in Arizona communities that would not otherwise be funded through existing budgets. This program is being made possible from funds allocated to Arizona from the USFS during the first round of funding distribution and not the public Notice of Funding Opportunity.

The IRA Project's theme is: Improving urban forest conditions in disadvantaged communities for climate resilience and heat mitigation. Project timelines for this grant should be 4 years. The projects must be in service to supporting disadvantaged communities as defined by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool: CJEST - https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/(link is external).

The Community Challenge Grant Program focuses on activities to encourage and promote citizen involvement in supporting long-term and sustainable urban and community forestry programs at the local level. Local and tribal governments, non-profit organizations, and public educational institutions qualify.

Community Challenge Grants are intended for promoting and enhancing the quality of Arizona’s urban and community forests. The program aims to fund projects that might not otherwise be funded through existing budgets, and research project funding is intended as “seed-grants” because of the limited funding available. All proposed projects should be designed to improve the long-term health and care of the urban forest, or initiate new urban forestry projects in Arizona communities.

In evaluating grant proposals, consideration will be given to projects that:
- Improve understanding of the benefits of protecting, maintaining, and preserving tree cover.
- Promote volunteerism, multi-cultural awareness, and involvement of nonprofit organizations, agencies, and the private sector in implementing urban and community forestry programs.
- Increase the number of communities assisted through technology transfer, training, and education in tree care or urban natural resource management.
- Increase the number of partnerships and cooperators in urban and community forestry activities through technical, financial, and in-kind support.
- Increase the number of communities given technical, financial, or other forms of urban and community forestry assistance (i.e. tree inventories, tree board establishment, ordinance development, management plans, or infrastructure).
- Enhance the technical skills of individuals involved in the planning, developing, and maintaining urban and community forestry programs.
- Expand existing research intended to improve understanding of southwestern (a) tree growth and maintenance, tree physiology and morphology, and species adaptations; and (b) the role of urban trees in conserving energy and mitigating the urban heat island.

All projects selected for funding should be completed within one year and a final project presentation is required at the annual Community Forestry Grantee Showcase that is held every fall.

Only cities, counties/parishes, and other units of local government, and certain States and Native American Tribes (those that have an EPA-authorized lead abatement certification program on the submission deadline) are eligible applicants.

The objective of this NOFO is to invite states, Indian Tribes, irrigation districts, water districts, local governmental entities, non-profit organizations, Existing Watershed Groups, and local and special districts (e.g., irrigation and water districts, conservation districts, natural resource districts) to submit proposals for Phase I activities to develop a watershed group, complete watershed restoration planning activities, and design watershed management projects. See Section C.4. Eligible Projects for a more comprehensive description of eligible activities.A “watershed group,” as defined in Section 6001(6) of the Cooperative Watershed Management Act (see Section A.1. Authority for full citation) is a grassroots, non-regulatory entity that addresses water availability and quality issues within the relevant watershed, is capable of promoting the sustainable use of water resources in the watershed, makes decisions on a consensus basis, and represents a diverse group of stakeholders, including hydroelectric producers, livestock grazing, timber production, land development, recreation or tourism, irrigated agriculture, the environment, municipal water supplies, private property owners, Federal, state and local governments, Tribes, and disadvantaged communities.

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s (Department) WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) Program provides a framework for Federal leadership and assistance to stretch and secure water supplies for future generations in support of the Department’s priorities. Through WaterSMART, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) leverages Federal and non-Federal funding to support stakeholder efforts to stretch scarce water supplies and avoid conflicts over water.

Through the Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program (Title XVI), authorized by P.L. 102-575 in 1992, Reclamation provides financial and technical assistance to local water agencies for the planning, design, and construction of water reclamation and reuse projects. Water recycling is a tool in stretching the limited water supplies in the Western United States. Title XVI projects develop and supplement urban and irrigation water supplies through water reuse, thereby improving efficiency, providing flexibility during water shortages, and diversifying the water supply. These projects provide growing communities with new sources of clean water which increases water management flexibility and makes our water supply more reliable.

Through the Large-Scale Water Recycling Program, Reclamation will provide up to 25 percent (%) Federal cost share, with no per-project Federal funding maximum, to water recycling projects that have a total project cost greater than or equal to $500 million. Large-scale water recycling projects will play an important role in helping communities develop local, drought-resistant sources of water supply by turning currently unusable water sources into a new source of water supply that is less vulnerable to drought and climate change. The Large-Scale Water Recycling Projects funding opportunity provides support for priorities identified in Presidential Executive Order (E.O.) 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and is aligned with other priorities, such as those identified in E.O. 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. In particular, the Large-Scale Water Recycling Projects funding opportunity advances the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative. Established by E.O. 14008, the Justice40 Initiative has made it a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments, such as climate, clean energy, and other areas, flow to disadvantaged communities.