The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that it would allocate $12.5 million in grants to assist, among others, certain facilities that purchase and process byproducts from restoration projects taking place on federal land. The agency makes clear that it is restricting eligibility to those operating in areas most at risk for “severe wildfire, insect or disease infestation.”
USDA is targeting $12.5 million as financial assistance for owners of facilities that purchase and process byproducts from forest restoration projects including thinning, wildfire resilience activities and habitat management. Owners must identify how their work will use the byproducts from areas of high or very high rise of severe wildfire or insect and disease infestation based on the high priority fire-sheds identified in the Forest Service 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy or by using the Wildfire Risk to Communities and national Insect and Disease Risk maps.
For more information related to USDA’s grant opportunity, see details below from the U.S. Forest Service:
The Biden Administration announced it would accept applications made available by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance (WPIA) for financial assistance up to 5:00 PM local time on December 20, 2022.
Applications for financial assistance and instructions for completing the application can be downloaded directly from the weblinks below. Additional information can be found at the USDA Forest Service Wood Innovations homepage.
FS 10 Year: https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/wildfire-crisis/landscapes
Wildfire: https://wildfirerisk.org/explore
Insect & Disease: National Insect & Disease Risk Maps (usda.gov)
Questions about the WPIA should be directed to Brian Brashaw at brian.k.brashaw@usda.gov. Technical issues with accessing the weblinks can be directed to Patrick Rappold at patrick.rappold@usda.gov.
Source: Hardwood Federation