U.S.
Senator
Mazie K. Hirono
(D-HI) announced that the
U.S. Forest Service
is awarding more than
$5.6 million
to help plan for and prevent wildfires in
Hawaii
. The funding, made available through the Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) Program, will be allocated to nine projects across the state to help at-risk communities plan for and reduce the risk of wildfires. This announcement follows a letter
Senator Hirono
sent to
U.S. Forest Service
Chief
Randy Moore
in
November 2023
in strong support of
Hawaii's
applications for CWDG funding.
"The devastating wildfires in
Lahaina
last year illustrated how vulnerable
Hawaii
communities are to wildfire," said
Senator Hirono
. "As
Maui
continues working to recover and rebuild, I am glad to see this funding coming to the
University of Hawaii
and communities across our islands to help plan for and reduce the risk of future wildfires."
The CWDG Program was established to protect communities, infrastructure, and natural resources from the threat of wildfires. This program was made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which
Senator Hirono
supported, and provides funding to communities to develop and revise Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) and to implement projects described in CWPPs that are less than ten years old.
This funding will be allocated to the following projects:
*
University of Hawaii
- over
$4.6 million
for provisioning plant materials for fire risk mitigation to underserved communities of
Hawaii
. This funding will be used to increase and improve availability of native and non-native, non-invasive seeds needed to support fuel conversion for fire risk mitigation, mitigate post-fire impacts such as erosion, and restore native ecosystems following a wildfire. This project will also establish seed sharing protocols and educational resources for community-based projects in collection, cultivation, processing, and storage to increase seed supplies.
*
Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization
:
* Lanai CWPP - over
$97,000
to develop a new CWPP for the island of
Lanai
* Western Oahu CWPP - over
$135,000
to update the Western Oahu CWPP
* Upcountry Maui CWPP - over
$130,000
to update the Upcountry Maui CWPP
* Molokai CWPP - over
$140,000
to update the Molokai CWPP
*
Hawaii Fire Department
, Hilo CWPP - over
$125,000
to update
Hilo's
CWPP, which includes surrounding areas
* Central Oahu CWPP - over
$134,000
to develop a CWPP for
Central Oahu
* Puna, Hawaii Island CWPP - over
$128,000
to develop a CWPP for the area encompassing
Puna District
,
Hawaii County
, and
Hawaii Island
* Windward Oahu CWPP - over
$131,000
to develop a CWPP for Windward Oahu
Read this original document at: https://www.hirono.senate.gov/news/press-releases/hirono-announces-over-56-million-in-wildfire-preparation-funding-for-hawaii
