External Funding Opportunity
National Science Foundation: Smart and Connected Communities
The purpose of the program is to accelerate the creation of novel intelligent technologies and concepts through high-risk/high-reward research that addresses major challenges and issues faced by communities across the US. A "smart and connected community" is defined as a community that synergistically integrates intelligent technologies with the natural and built environments and with the functions of civic institutions and organizations. Proposals submitted to the program should be designed to advance one or more of the following community priorities: economic opportunity and growth; safety and security; human and environmental health and wellness; accessibility of critical services and resources; and the overall quality of life for those who live, work, learn, or travel within the community. To meet the goals of the program, researchers should work with community stakeholders to identify and define challenges the community faces, using that interaction and input to generate high-impact, use-inspired, basic research that advances science and engineering.
Required Pre-proposal Deadline: September 8, 2025
U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Regional Fire Science Exchange
The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) solicits proposals to lead and execute a particular regional fire science exchange for a period of two years. The JFSP funds and provides oversight to a national collaborative of 15 regional wildland fire science exchanges: the Fire Science Exchange Network (FSEN). The FSEN provides the most relevant, current wildland fire science information to federal, state, local, tribal, and private stakeholders within ecologically similar regions. The FSEN brings fire, fuel, natural resource, and land managers, practitioners, and scientists together to address regional wildland fire management needs and challenges. All proposals must be submitted using the electronic submission process provided by the JFSP website (https://www.firescience.gov). Proposals cannot be submitted through Grants.gov.
U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Accelerating science to action in fire-prone ecosystems with changing fire regimes: Spurring innovation in fire management through knowledge exchange and place-based partnerships
The objective of this task statement is to strengthen partnerships among scientists, practitioners, managers, and other interested parties to accelerate the identification and adoption of science-based management strategies that facilitate innovative solutions to changing fire regimes.
Application Deadline: September 18, 2025
U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) Award
The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) invites current master and doctoral students enrolled at colleges or universities within the US in the field of wildland fire and related physical, biological, and social sciences to apply for a Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) award. The purpose of a GRIN award is to enhance student exposure to the management and policy relevance of their research to achieve beneficial outcomes of funded work. Specific objectives related to management are to enhance student exposure to and interaction with fire and fuels managers, develop appreciation and understanding of fire and fuels managers information and research needs, and augment already planned and funded master or doctoral research to develop information and/or products useful to managers.
Application Deadline: September 18, 2025
U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Research to support wildland fire investigations
The program supports research that will strengthen the scientific basis for evidence used in wildland fire origin and cause investigations.
Application Deadline: September 18, 2025
U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Evaluation of operational fire potential forecasts
The program supports improved fire potential forecast products through inventory and objective evaluation of existing tools and resources.
Application Deadline: September 18, 2025
Ocean Protection Council, Advancing 30×30 in Coastal Waters
This solicitation is intended to advance 30×30 in coastal waters by: 1) Enhancing coastal and marine biodiversity conservation, 2) Strengthening biodiversity protections in existing 30×30 Conservation Areas, 3) Supporting the identification of potential new 30×30 Conservation Areas, 4) Providing direct benefits to coastal and marine biodiversity via restoration or other on-the-ground environmental stewardship activities, and 5) Supporting stewardship of coastal and marine ecosystems by local communities and California Native American tribes. $10 million is available through this solicitation to fund projects for up to two years. Proposals will be accepted for three separate tracks: action-oriented science (Track 1), accelerating environmental restoration and stewardship (Track 2), and revitalizing tribally-led stewardship (Track 3).
Application Deadline: September 19, 2025
Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Wildfire & Forest Resilience Directed Grant Program
The California's Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan: A Comprehensive Strategy identifies three goals that are strongly aligned with SNC's Watershed Improvement Plan: healthy and resilient natural places, safe communities, and sustainable economies. This Program aims to support projects that result in a combination of multiple watershed, ecosystem, and community benefits. The primary activities of the project must include at least one of the following items: removal of hazardous, dead, and/or dying trees; removal of vegetation for the creation of strategic fuel breaks as identified by approved fire prevention plans; removal of vegetation for community defensible space; removal of vegetation along roadways, highways, and freeways for the creation of safer ingress and egress routes; removal of vegetation using cultural traditional ecological knowledge for cultural burning and/or prescribed fire treatments for fuels reduction; or improvements to previously established fuel breaks or fuels-modification projects.
Application Deadline: January 31, 2026
U.S. Economic Development Administration, Disaster Supplemental Grant Program
The program makes approximately $1.45 billion in disaster recovery funding available to American communities that received major disaster declarations due to hurricanes, wildfires, severe storms and flooding, tornadoes, and other natural disasters occurring in calendar years 2023 and 2024. This funding opportunity encourages broad-based local engagement and places special emphasis on projects that involve private industry in disaster recovery and economic renewal to ensure the maximum impact for taxpayer funding to support these communities. Coalition-led, multi-project portfolios that transform regional economies through industry development. These grants can fund a mix of construction and non-construction projects. Grant amounts are expected to range from $20 million to $50 million. Check eligibility here: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/declarations .
Application Deadline: March 6, 2026
Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Sustainable Recreation, Tourism, and Equitable Outdoor Access Directed Grant Program
The Grant Program aims to support innovative efforts to enhance, promote, and develop sustainable recreation and tourism opportunities and increase access for all to public lands in the Sierra-Cascade region. Program goals include improving access to nature and outdoor recreation opportunities, reducing impacts of overuse on natural and cultural resources, and supporting the development of sustainable recreation economies. Projects must fall within one of the following three focus areas to be considered for funding: 1. Build Climate Resilience: Support the planning, development, and maintenance of recreation and outdoor infrastructure that anticipates or adapts to increased use and pressure from climate change and visitors escaping extreme weather. Projects must clearly have multiple benefits, such as tourism as well as education, recreation infrastructure with water-quality benefits, or recreation with habitat protection. 2. Improve/Increase Access for All: Improve and/or increase access to nature, including for communities that have not traditionally had equitable access through grants which result in either the implementation or identification, prioritization, and preparation for capital improvement projects. Projects must clearly have multiple benefits, such as tourism as well as education, recreation infrastructure with water-quality benefits, or recreation with habitat protection. 3. Landscape-scale Assessments: Support landscape-scale partnerships to develop an assessment of landscape conditions and risks to recreational infrastructure and other assets. Projects must clearly have multiple benefits, such as tourism as well as education, recreation infrastructure with water-quality benefits, or recreation with habitat protection.
Application Deadline: December 31, 2027
California Ocean Protection Council, SB 1 Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning Grant Program
The SB 1 Grant Program aims to provide funding for coastal communities to develop consistent sea level rise (SLR) adaptation plans and projects to build resilience to sea level rise along the entire coast of California and San Francisco Bay. While many jurisdictions have advanced planning already underway or complete, many others have yet to begin comprehensive planning or assessments. The Ocean Protection Council aims to address this need by offering funding for a range of SLR planning activities. These fall into the following categories: Track 1: SLR Adaptation Planning; Track 2: SLR Implementation Projects.
Application Deadline: Rolling basis