LITACorp Secures U.S. Forest Service Grant for the City of Leesville, Louisiana
For Immediate Release
August 5, 2024
Media Contact:
Alex Holland
Senior Advisor
alex@litacorp.org
The City of Leesville, Louisiana has secured $85,661 in funding through the 2024 Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) administered by the U.S. Forest Service. The CWDG program assists at-risk communities, including Tribal communities, with planning for and lowering wildfire risks on tribal, state, and privately-managed land. The program was launched in response to the ongoing wildfire crisis being experienced throughout the country.
The City of Leesville will utilize their grant funds to develop a community-wide wildfire protection plan, which will provide Leesville with strategies to reduce their wildfire risk and building resiliency to the impacts of wildfires.
“I’m thankful for the support provided by LITACorp to secure this grant for the City of Leesville, said State Senator Mike Reese (District 30). “Our region experienced extreme circumstances with wildfires last year and it is important that our communities are better prepared to deal with these natural disasters in the future.”
“The CWD Grant for the City of Leesville is great news,” said State Representative Chuck Owen (District 30). “Communities all around Louisiana learned some lessons in 2023 regarding the dangers of wildfires. Leesville is fortunate to be able to take advantage of this timely grant program and will no doubt put to good use these resources to prepare for the future. The Fire Department in Leesville and the City of Leesville are well-run organizations and their initiative to access these important funds says a lot about their pursuit of excellence and steady leadership.”
Through the Technical Assistance Program (TAP), the Louisiana Infrastructure Technical Assistance Corporation (LITACorp) helped the City of Leesville identify the CWDG funding opportunity and also collaborated with local leaders to develop and submit a competitive grant application.
“The City of Leesville was the only community in Louisiana to receive an award under the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program,” said Leslie Durham, Executive Director of LITACorp. “That speaks volumes of the difference our technical assistance team makes when they engage with rural and underserved communities throughout our state. We are grateful to have the continued support of Governor Jeff Landry, the Louisiana State Legislature, Office of Rural Development, Police Jury Association of Louisiana and Louisiana Municipal Association, and we are determined now more than ever to help Louisiana communities access these federal resources.”
Since July 2023, LITACorp has submitted 20 grant applications to secure nearly $170 million in funding for Louisiana communities under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Louisiana communities interested in receiving technical assistance can submit a Letter of Interest to LITACorp at www.LITACorp.org.
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The Louisiana Infrastructure Technical Assistance Corporation (LITACorp) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the economic prosperity of Louisiana communities. LITACorp is a collaborative partnership between the Louisiana Municipal Association and the Police Jury Association of Louisiana to assist local governments with accessing federal grants through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to construct, improve, and repair public infrastructure in rural and economically distressed communities.