The USDA Forest Service is announcing the availability of funding to support projects that will substantially expand and accelerate wood products and wood energy markets throughout the United States to support forest management needs on National Forest System and other forest lands.
Donor Name: Forest Service
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/11/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 5 Years
Details:
This Request for Proposals focuses on the following priorities to:
- Reduce hazardous fuels and improve forest health on National Forest System and other forestlands.
- Reduce costs of forest management on all land types.
- Promote economic and environmental health of communities.
Funding Priorities and Preferences
Preference will be given to proposals that:
- Create or expand markets for wood and biomass generated by forest health and hazardous fuels reduction projects on National Forest System and other U.S. forested lands.
- Support development of domestically sourced timber and U.S. manufacturing of mass timber and other wood products.
- Involve wood products or wood industry partners.
- Support commercial building markets or other markets that use innovative wood products.
- Demonstrate how the project will reduce land management costs.
- Bundle or address multiple wood energy or wood products projects.
- Commit to utilizing domestically sourced timber for mass timber construction projects.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $8,000,000.
- Award Ceiling: $300,000.
- Award Floor: $10,000.
Grant Period
Awards under this announcement are typically 2 to 3 years in length. Projects of greater complexity may be awarded for a longer period, not to exceed 5 years.
Eligible Projects
The intent of the Wood Innovations Funding Opportunity is to stimulate, expand, and support wood products markets and wood energy markets. Projects can include, but are not limited to:
- Completing requirements, such as engineering designs, cost analyses, and permitting necessary, in the later stages of commercial construction projects that use wood as a primary building material and in the later stages of wood energy project development to secure financing. Early phase project development proposals will not be competitive.
- Developing manufacturing capacity, other necessary wood products infrastructure, and markets for wood products that support forest ecosystem restoration.
- Showcasing quantifiable environmental and economic benefits of using wood as a sustainable building material in an actual commercial building and the projected benefits achieved if replicated across the United States based on commercial construction market trends.
- Establishing statewide wood utilization teams and statewide wood energy teams. Only proposals from States without an existing (or former) team will be considered.
- Developing a cluster of wood energy projects in a geographic area or specific sector (e.g., prisons, hospitals, universities, manufacturing sector, or industrial sector).
- Overcoming market barriers and stimulating expansion of wood energy in the commercial sector.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants are for-profit entities; state, and local governments; Indian Tribes; school districts; community, not-for-profit organizations; institutions of higher education; and special purpose districts (e.g., public utilities districts, fire districts, conservation districts, and ports.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
