Grande Prairie City Council has approved an additional Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta grant application.
The application comes one month after the city was awarded a $200K FRIAA grant to support the city’s Vegetation Management Project near the South Bear Creek Corridor and FireSmarting efforts in and around the municipality.
Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton says if approved, the grant will present the city with an opportunity to work on FireSmarting in the first phase of the city’s multi-phase approach to wildfire mitigation ahead of the 2024 season.
According to the Mayor, the proposed project will use the city’s existing Geographic Information Systems data to create a detailed map of vegetation density to assist crews in their efforts to FireSmart the region.
“This map will be used to establish a wildland-urban interface priority list so prioritizing areas for residents and for our municipality,” she says.
Additionally, Mayor Clayton says funding from the grant will be utilized alongside a “significant amount of gift in kind” from the city to provide further support for crews.