The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is pleased to announce funding to support the regeneration of forests so they may continue to deliver vital services such as mitigating climate change, protecting air and water quality, and supporting the economy.
Donor Name: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
State: New York
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 10/06/2023
Size of the Grant: $10,000-$100,000
Details:
The goal of this grant opportunity is to assist private landowners with the costs of establishing successful forest regeneration on private forestland within New York State.
The purpose of this grant program is to support the regeneration of forests so they may continue to deliver vital services such as mitigating climate change, protecting air and water quality, and supporting the economy. Young forests in New York face many challenges today that did not exist a century ago, the most significant being wide-spread damage caused by increased white-tailed deer populations and competition from invasive vegetation. Active management of the land is essential to ensure the survival of young trees and allow forests to become established or renew themselves, but this can be an overwhelming and expensive task.
Funding Information
- Approximately $850,000 is available for Regenerate NY Round 3 with a 25% Match.
- Minimum and Maximum Award Amounts
- Applicants may request a grant amount between $10,000 and $100,000 per application during Round 3
- Applicants are encouraged to request the amount of funding they deem appropriate and reasonable for their project and are prepared to pay out of pocket while awaiting reimbursement and are prepared to match 25% in cash or in kind.
Eligible Projects
- Projects must be able to be completed within three years and may not be for orchard, ornamental, nursery, or Christmas tree purposes. They must also include at least one of the following four forestry practices specific to promoting regeneration. Multiple practices may be combined into a single application.
- Afforestation/reforestation – Conduct activities that encourage the establishment or regeneration of commercial tree species to create or maintain a forested landscape. This may include site preparation, tree planting, or installing tree shelters for the purposes of timber or fiber production and carbon sequestration. Planting projects must use native trees or non-native species that are not invasive. For more information on tree planting and maintenance.
- Forest stand regeneration – Apply treatments to an area that enhance or stimulate the regeneration of forest stands currently in a degraded or otherwise unproductive condition. Approved treatments may include coppicing, use of seed trees, shelter wood cutting, over story removal, strip or patch clear cuts, uniform clear cuts and group selection, or a combination of these. Clear cuts may not exceed 39 acres of contiguous forest.
- Competing vegetation control – Employ mechanical removal or chemical control to address aggressive native or invasive plant species that interfere with forest establishment or regeneration. Chemical control may not be used on more than 39 acres of contiguous land.
- Deer exclosures – Install fencing around an area to protect young trees from deer browse. Fencing may also be used to exclude deer from an area with no established trees to allow natural regeneration to occur. Construction of natural slash walls is a novel technique for excluding deer and is an allowable practice to include in a project.
Eligibility Criteria
- For this grant opportunity, a NFP is subject to New York State’s Not-For-Profit Corporation Law, is qualified for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Federal Internal Revenue Code, has an IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter to be incorporated in New York State and is current in their charities reporting requirements with the Office of the Attorney General.
- For the purposes of this grant program, the following entities are considered eligible applicants:
- Any individual, partnership, for profit entity or not-for-profit (NFP) entity that owns in fee forest land, or land suitable for establishing forests
- Quasi government entity Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) on behalf of private landowners
- Any not-for-profit (NFP) applying as a fiscal sponsor on behalf of an otherwise eligible applicant.
- Not for Profits: An eligible applicant must be a not-for-profit corporation (NFP) community-based organization, or a community-based organization may partner with a NFP that will serve as their fiscal sponsor.
- For the purposes of this grant opportunity, a community-based organization is an organization that:
- Serves the residents of an area equal to or smaller than a town or city outside of New York City, or an area equal to or smaller than one of the five boroughs within New York City; and
- Cannot have its charter revoked or otherwise be dissolved through the action of another organization; and
- Is able to enter into legal agreements independent of any affiliated nonprofit organization, government body, university or other entity that would be ineligible to apply for this grant.
For more information, visit DEC.
