County announces PROTECT grant paperwork cleared for final watershed mitigation work

Coconino County managers told supervisors on Tuesday they have cleared final paperwork to begin work funded by the federal PROTECT grant and that the county will now move ahead with remaining post‑wildfire watershed mitigation tasks that were part of earlier project packages.

County staff said the grant award had been in process and required extensive documentation, and they thanked agency partners and legal teams for completing the approvals. The county manager said the U.S. Department of Transportation’s internal processing remains a multi‑step process and noted it may be weeks before contracts and procurement actions are active, but that the county now has a clear path to start the federally funded work.

Supervisor Jeronimo Vasquez said he appreciated the persistence of staff and partners in completing the documentation after heavy rains and visible downstream impacts from post‑wildfire washouts in other Arizona communities. County officials said the PROTECT funds will enable road and watershed upgrades on Highway 89 and other post‑fire infrastructure work that previously reduced flood and debris risks.

The board did not take formal action on the update; staff said they would return with procurement milestones and a timeline once DOT completes federal contract processing.