Mitigation Activities
Many of the items identified during your home risk assessment, or in follow up evaluations, can be completed by homeowners. In some cases specialized skill or equipment may be needed. Regardless of how you decide to implement work, Gallatin County Emergency Management can provide you with a “treatment plan” that outlines the work we recommend for your property.
Based on available program funding, we may also be capable of entering into a cost share program for work done on your property, excluding work on the physical buildings.
Homeowner Work
In many situations a lot of the recommended work can be completed by homeowners either with hand tools or rented equipment. It is also possible that project work could be split between work you do, and more complex work you hire a contractor for.
Contractor Work
It’s very possible that if trees need to be thinned out, a lot of understory is present, or you have a large parcel, that you won’t have the skills, equipment or time to do the work. In this situation, hiring a contractor makes sense. Several contractors are present in the area and could implement the prescription for your property. When a contractor is utilized when cost share programs are available, the property owner typically pays their portion with cash.
Wildfire Mitigation Contractors
The following are companies that we are aware of who conduct wildfire mitigation work in Gallatin County.
| Company Name | Contact Name | Website | Phone | Types of Work | |
| Bozeman Arbor Care | Curtis Flesch | www.bozemanarborcare.com | info@bozemanarborcare.com | 406.587.5819 | Arborist, Home Ignition Zone |
| Gallatin Tree Care | Scott Makoutz | www.gallatintreecare.com | smakoutz@gmail.com | 406.209.1163 | Arborist, Home Ignition Zone |
| Tree Care Solutions | Lui Ferreira | www.treecaremt.com | 406.219.7273 | Arborist, Home Ignition Zone | |
| Youngs Tree & Forestry | Glade Young | www.youngstreeandforestry.com | Youngstreeandforestry@gmail.com | 406.587.2991 | Arborist, Home Ignition Zone |
| BG Wolf Creek | Bret Gensch | www.bgwolfcreek.com | bigwolfcreekllc@gmail.com | 406.570.1184 | Sm & Lg scale thinning |
| Big Sky Forestry Services | Carl Chrisitanson | www.bigskyforestryservices.com | |||
| Big Sky Land Management | Ian Moore | www.bigskylandmanagement.com | ian@bigskylandmgmt.com | 406.333.1742 | Sm & Lg scale thinning |
| Big Sky Land Resources | Cody Wiliams | www.bigskylandresources.com | info@bigskylandresources.com | 406.581.4489 | Sm & Lg scale thinning |
| Big Twig Tree Care | Cara Nuti | www.bigtwigtreecare.com | 406.600.9365 | Sm & Lg scale thinning | |
| E’s Trees | Erik Diehl | estreesforestry@gmail.com | 406.579.4212 | Sm & Lg scale thinning | |
| Firebreak Management | Jessica Braun | www.firebreakmanagement.com | jessica@firebreakmanagement.com | 406.600.9767 | Home ignition zone, Sm & Lg scale thinning |
| Gnarled Pine Tree & Forestry | Dash Rodman | www.gnarledpine.com | dash@gnarledpine.com | 406.223.0808 | Home ignition zone, Sm & Lg scale thinning |
| Heritage Wood Product Services | Reese Erickson | heritagewoodps@gmail.com | 406-548-1993 | Home ignition zone, Sm & Lg scale thinning | |
| Landworx Montana | Levi Costa | www.landworxmontana.com | admin@landworxmontana.com | 406.539.7579 | Sm & Lg scale thinning |
| Sapphire Forestry | Trevor McKeith | www.sapphireforestry.com | sapphireforestry@gmail.com | 406.540.2522 | Sm & Lg scale thinning |
| Tree Crew | G. Allan Oram | http://www.treecrew.biz | sapphireforestry@gmail.com | 406.925.0824 | Sm & Lg scale thinning |
| Worman Forestry Management | Luke Fehlig | luke@wormanforestry.com | www.wormantforestry.com | 406.594.7648 | Sm & Lg scale thinning |
This is not an exhaustive list or an endorsement of anyone on it. We will gladly add anyone performing this sort of work to our list. Please conduct your own research and evaluation of available companies.
Cost Share Programs
Several organizations have active wildfire mitigation programs in Gallatin County. The exact criteria, cost share process and geographic area they can be used varies. The current programs are listed below. If you have interest in wildfire mitigation work on your property, please complete the interest form below and we will see what programs may be the best fit.
Gallatin County’s programs will typically require a 40% match from the land owners on project costs.
| Managing Agency | Funding Agency | Status | Funding Amount | Project Area | Performance Period | More Info |
| Natural Resource Conservation Service | Joint Chiefs | Active | $1,500,000 | Bridger Canyon and Northern Gallatin Front | 2022-2024 | Link |
| Natural Resource Conservation Service | NRCS Targeted Implementation Plan | Active | $279,000 | Bridger Canyon | 2021-2023 | Link |
| Gallatin County | Western State Foresters – Wildland Urban Interface Grant | Active | $255,000 | North of I-90 through Bridger Canyon | 2023-2025 | |
| Gallatin County | Federal Emergency Management Agency – Hazard Mitigaiton Grant Program Post Fire | Active | $1,068,360 | Gallatin Front, Bozeman Pass, West side of Bridgers, Clarkston | 2024-2028 | |
| Gallatin County | USDA Forest Service – Community Wildfire Defense Grant | Active | $1,589,160 | Northern Gallatin Front from Storm Castle to I-90 | 2023-2028 | |
| Gallatin County | DNRC – Local Government Forestry Assistance | Completed | $9,000 | Wildland Urban Interface Intermix | 2022-2023 | |
| Gallatin County | Western State Foresters – Wildland Urban Interface Grant | Funded | $255,000 | Bozeman Pass | 2024-2026 | |
| Natural Resource Conservation Service | Bridger-Bangtails Forest Health and Hazardous Fuels Reduction TIP | Active | $600,000 | Bridger Bangtails | 2025-2027 | Link |
Not all the programs listed about are managed by Gallatin County, nor can we guarantee it is a comprehensive list of available programs. We do our best to identify available programs and route individuals to the best program to fit their needs.