US Forest Service Accepting Applications for $200M in Community Wildfire Defense Grants
The US Forest Service has announced the agency is accepting applications for the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program to assist at-risk communities with planning for and mitigating wildfire risks. Now in its third year, this competitive grant program is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Individual grants of up to $250,000 can be used to develop and update community wildfire protection plans while grants of up to $10 million can be used for wildfire resilience projects that implement community wildfire protection plans. The number of projects selected will be determined by available money, which is up to $200 million for this round of funding. Projects must be completed within five years of the award. In the first two years of the program, 45 projects across Oregon and Washington received more than $100 million in funding to develop community wildfire protection plans and implement strategic wildfire mitigation projects, investing millions in the safety of high-risk forest communities across both states. Community Wildfire Defense Grants help provide forest communities and partners thin overstocked stands, create shaded fuel breaks, and develop or update wildfire protection plans to ensure forests and communities are better prepared for and resilient to wildfires.
...Read more
City of Grants Pass Working to Comply with New FEMA Rules Protecting Fish Habitat
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is implementing new requirements for development in the regulated floodplain for continued participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which provides Grants Pass residents discounts on flood insurance. In 2009, FEMA was sued by various environmental agencies which claimed the federal floodplain regulations were not compliant with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) -- and FEMA has been working on resolution since that time. On July 15th of this year, FEMA announced the enforcement of short-term Pre-Implementation Compliance Measures for communities located in the Oregon implementation area that participate in NFIP and have a mapped SFHA while they complete their Environmental Impact Study. The changes are intended to protect 16 endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead species and their habitat by requiring "no net loss" of habitat functions. These functions include flood storage, water quality and riparian habitats. The Grants Pass Community Development Department is drafting a development code text amendment to include these requirements and will be sending out notices to all affected property owners in early 2025.
...Read more
Chamber of Commerce Invites Citizens to Take Part in Annual "Operation Joy" Program
The Grants Pass & Josephine County Chamber of Commerce is once again inviting the community to help spread some holiday cheer this year for people residing in assisted living centers. "Operation Joy" is a program that collects unused Christmas cards. The cards are then given out to individuals, clubs and/or groups to be addressed to participating facilities. Completed cards are returned to the Chamber for delivery. Participating locations include Highland House with 85 residents, Royal Gardens with 80 residents, Oak Lane with 65 residents and Regency Care with 50 residents. Do you have leftover holiday cards? Do you want to make the holidays a little brighter for others? Drop them off and/or pick them up at the Chamber, which is located at 1995 NW Vine Street in Grants Pass.
Completed cards must be returned by December 18th. For more information about Operation Joy, contact Christie Swafford at (541)-226-3101 or e-mail "cswafford@grantspasschamber.org."
...Read more
