Federal government awards nearly $900,000 to reduce wildfire risk in St. Louis County

Sheriff's Office • 100 North Fifth Avenue West • Duluth, MN 55802
Phone: (218) 726-2340 • www.stlouiscountymn.gov

Gordon Ramsay
Sheriff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: March 28, 2023

Media Contact: Dewey Johnson

Emergency Operations Manager
(218) 726-2936

Federal government awards nearly $900,000 to reduce wildfire risk in St. Louis County

St. Louis County will be receiving $890,925 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to help plan for and mitigate wildfire risks within the county. The county's proposal is one of 100 projects selected nationwide to receive a portion of the $197 million through the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program, which is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

For many years, St. Louis County has participated in the Firewise Program, which assists private property owners whose land is adjacent to federal land, to help them reduce wildfire risk on their property. This new grant funding will broaden the scope of this program to assist other private property owners reduce their wildfire risk.

The funding will be used to assist fire departments, lake and road associations, and township boards in the highest wildfire risk areas in St. Louis County to increase wildfire awareness, reduce fuels and provide opportunities to help their communities be more wildfire resilient. The county will provide more information to these organizations once details are finalized on how they can partner with the county in these efforts.\

"We are thankful and excited to receive this funding," said St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay. "We've seen the positive results from Firewise, and so to be able to expand where we can offer these services will make a big difference."

St. Louis County contracts with Dovetail Partners to coordinate Firewise, and expects to continue working with them on the broadened program. 

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About Dovetail Partners

Dovetail seeks to engage you in thoughtful, collaborative processes so that we can create an inspiring path forward and empower you to lead with confidence.

Dovetail seeks to accomplish that by providing authoritative information about the impacts and trade-offs of environmental management, including consumption choices, land use decisions, and policy alternatives.

Dovetail is a highly skilled team that fosters sustainability and responsible behaviors through collaboration to develop unique concepts, systems, models, and programs. Dovetail excels at solving complex problems and helping responsible organizations succeed. We also help define programs that increase the job creation and the job quality of resource-based industries. Dovetail Partners is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Learn more: dovetailinc.org.