Wildfire mitigation funding in Spokane County, Washington

Spokane Conservation District

75% cost-share on projects up to $7,500 ($5,625 maximum district contribution); homeowner contributes 25% in cash or in-kind labor, materials, or equipment

The conservation district reimburses 75% of the cost of work in the first 0-5 feet around your house — the zone that decides whether embers ignite the structure. You start with a free one-hour Firewise risk assessment, then the district cost-shares the recommended work. You cover 25%, and your own labor, materials, or equipment can count toward that share. Work must be finished by November 1 of the year you start, and you are paid back after the job is done and verified.

NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Cost-share, varies by practice and state

Pays part of the cost of conservation practices on private land, including forest-management and fuels-reduction work that lowers wildfire risk. This is the main federal program an individual landowner can apply to directly.

Who qualifies: Owners of non-industrial private forestland, agricultural producers, and Tribes. A written Forest Management Plan is required before financial assistance is approved. Available practices, funding pools and cutoff dates are set state by state.

• !Property must be non-industrial private forestland or agricultural land — a standard suburban lot generally will not qualify
• !A Forest Management Plan must be written for the property before assistance is approved
• !The agricultural-land route additionally requires a USDA Farm Service Agency farm/tract number, which most residential homeowners do not have
• !Application cutoffs are set per state; contact your local NRCS office for the current window