The Wolf Administration has announced that funding is now available to help Pennsylvania’s rural communities increase protection from wildfires.
“Weather can be friend or foe in our wildfire prevention and suppression efforts, but DCNR has no stronger ally — especially during these most difficult times of the pandemic — than the men and women of the volunteer fire companies serving rural areas and communities where forest and brush fires are common,” said Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. “To appreciate the value of well-equipped and highly trained wildfire fighters, one only has to look outside Pennsylvania to the horrific fires that sometimes plague other states.”
Fire Commissioner Bruce Trego praised volunteer fire companies’ service to communities close to home, as well as those members who often join DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry crews battling wildfires far beyond Pennsylvania’s borders.
“Wildfires continue to pose a dangerous and growing threat to our state’s forests, economic interests and the communities that live and recreate near them,” Trego said. “Grant programs like these are vital tools for state government to ensure volunteer firefighters get needed equipment and training so they may perform their jobs as professionally and safely as possible.”
Local firefighting forces in rural areas or communities with fewer than 10,000 residents qualify for the aid, which is used for training and equipment purchases directly related to fighting brush and forest fires.
Grant applications must be electronically submitted through DCNR’s grant website by 4:00 P.M., Thursday, May 13, 2021. To expedite applications and decision-making processes, DCNR is accepting only online applications.
The key objective is to better equip and train volunteers to save lives and protect property in unprotected or inadequately protected rural areas. Grant recipients are selected based on vulnerability and adequacy of existing fire protection.
In application reviews, priority will be placed on projects that include the purchase of wildfire suppression equipment and protective clothing. Grants also may be used for purchasing mobile or portable radios, installing dry hydrants, wildfire prevention and mitigation work, training wildfire fighters, or converting and maintaining federal excess vehicles. These vehicles are presented to the local departments exhibiting the greatest needs and those that commit to outfitting them for fire suppression.
Aid is granted on a cost-share basis. Grants for any project during a fiscal year cannot exceed 50 percent of the actual expenditures of local, public, and private nonprofit organizations in the agreement. The maximum grant that will be considered from any fire company in 2021 is $10,000.
NATURE NUGGET: The Timberdoodle — aka American Woodcock — is in a “family way” at this time of year. The male calls out “peent” several times at dusk and then flies straight up in the air only to descend making weird calls that sound like something from Mars. Join the staff of Nescopeck State Park (state park located just north of Hazleton) for a free online program to learn about their biology and tips for sighting these unique birds right in our area. This presentation is being offered online via Microsoft Teams. It does not take place at the state park. A separate link to join the event will be sent via email before the program to the email address you provide through the registration link below. Please register here for this free program that will be held on Thursday, March 25 from 7 to 8 pm: http://eventsreg.dcnr.pa.gov/register/create/36166746062346
NATURE QUOTE:
“Porcupine Pat” McKinney is environmental education coordinator for the Schuylkill Conservation District and provides programming for people of all ages with an emphasis on schools, public programming and nature center development. “Porcupine Pat” hails from Marion, Ohio and has a BS with Distinction in Natural Resources – Environmental Interpretation from Ohio State. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sandy Cochran Award for Excellence in Natural Resources Education from the PA Forestry Association, the Schuylkill Pride Award, and the PAEE “Outstanding Environmental Educator Award.”
