Downeast Maine Community Wildfire Protection Plan

2026-11-03

The Department of Agriculture , Conservation and Forestry , Maine Forest Service ( Department ) is seeking a consulting firm to create a Community Wildfire Protection Plan ( CWPP ) that covers two ( 2 ) towns and four ( 4 ) unorganized territories in the Downeast area of Washington County , Maine as defined in this Request for Proposals ( RFP ) document . This document provides instructions for submitting proposals , the procedure and criteria by which the awarded Bidder will be selected , and the contractual terms which will govern the relationship between the State of Maine ( State ) and the awarded Bidder . The mission of the Maine Forest Service ’ s Forest Protection Division ( Department ) is to protect Maine ’ s forest resources and homes from wildfire , respond to disasters and emergencies and to enforce natural resource laws . The mission ties into the State ’ s Forest Action Plan that mandates the MFS to protect Maine ’ s Forests from threats including fire , catastrophic storms , flooding , insect or disease outbreaks , and invasive species . On average , 650 wildfires occur with 550 acres burned annually in Maine . Due to extended droughts in most areas of the state , the 2025 fire season produced 852 wildfires that burned 514 acres . These fires also damaged or destroyed 22 residences and 47 other structures . In comparing five ( 5 ) year fire data ( 2019 - 2024 ) by county , Washington County had the fourth highest amount of fires ( 304 ) and the second highest amount of acreage burned ( 359 ). This is due to the remoteness / limited access in the area , fire - prone forest cover types as well as the occasional wildfire as a result of blueberry burning for agricultural purposes . The Healthy Forests Restoration Act ( HFRA ) was created in 2003 , is supported by the USDA Forest Service and mandated the need for CWPP ’ s . Since then , communities in the Wildland Urban Interface ( WUI ) that are at risk from destructive wildfires were encouraged to develop CWPP ’ s / mitigation plans and become more resilient to fire . During the last twenty years , dozens of CWPP ’ s for small communities (< 100 dwellings ) were completed by the Department . The CWPP ’ s prioritized areas of risk and made recommendations for reducing and mitigating the risk of wildfires damaging structures , infrastructure and forested areas . In recent years , the Department ’ s limited resources have reduced the amount of CWPP ’ s written for small communities . The US Forest Service also put a ten year shelf life on all CWPP ’ s . In 2022 , the new , competitive Community Wildfire Defense Grant ( CWDG ) program was created and provides federal funding to help create CWPP ’ s . During the second round of the program , the Department was awarded a CWDG grant for $ 117 , 236 with $ 55 , 000 available for a contractor to develop a CWPP in southeastern Washington County . The Department has not been involved with a CWPP of this size in the past . It seeks a reputable environmental consulting firm with experience in writing regional CWPP ’ s to develop a CWPP for the two ( 2 ) towns and four ( 4 ) unorganized townships in Washington County , ME ( see Appendix H for a map of the CWPP area ).

Maine

2026-05-01