Forest Service Announces $1.2 Million
in Forest Restoration Partnership Grants

California

$84,184

Northwest California RC&D Council

Colorado

$100,000

Colorado State Parks

Georgia

$77,500

Georgia Forestry Commission

Idaho

$88,900

Framing Our Community

Idaho

$70,000

Western Central Highland RC&D Council

Michigan

$99,450

Upper Peninsula RC&D Council

Missouri

$88,000

Top of the Ozarks RC&D Council

Oregon

$95,000

Lane County Government

Oregon

$100,000

Southwest Oregon RC&D Council

Virginia

$99,676

Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University

Wisconsin

$97,650

River Country RC&D Council

Wisconsin

$99,640

Southwest Badger RC&D Council

Wyoming

$100,000

Western Wyoming RC&D Council

Total

$1,200,000

California

Northwest California RC&D Council

$89,693

Expand on efforts to improve forest health and reduce the risk of wildland fire through fuels reduction projects and work on the development of local woody biomass utilization in this isolated rural county.

Colorado

Colorado State Parks

$100,000

Establish three collection site/sort yards in the north, central, and southern portion of the project area. Material will be collected and sorted by a site manager. Products will go to appropriate market outlets and be marketed using the existing Colorado Forest Products Marketing/Branding Program.

Georgia

Georgia Forestry Commission

$77,500

This project intends to verify that poultry producers can safely, economically, and efficiently utilize wood pellets converted from large quantities of unused biomass as an inexpensive and safe fuel for heating poultry houses. Not only will this project aid in weaning a portion of our farm economy from the volatile pricing of natural gas and propane, but will open a large local market for the production of compressed wood pellets in Georgia.

Idaho

Western Central Highland RC&D Council

$70,000

Will allow full funding of Biomass Coordinator position, which is critical to bring forest resources together with new technology and new entrepreneurs to create business opportunities and improved economic conditions in our RC&D area.

Idaho

Framing Our Community

$88,900

Develop a 10-acre, year-round accessible public sort yard that is close to private and federal lands, purchase a ASV RC100 Rubber Track Loader, hire a loader operator, and inform private and Federal land managers about lost value of sub/non-merchantable woody biomass.

Michigan

Upper Peninsula RC&D Council

$99,450

Work with partners on a multi-faceted woody biomass utilization project. The project will highlight and promote biomass utilization opportunities in the Upper Peninsula to facilitate the development of an active and commercially viable woody biomass industry.

Missouri

Top of the Ozarks RC&D Council

$88,000

Development of a Best Management Practices Manual for Biomass Harvest. Feasibility study focusing on investigation of public and private incentives and on the structure and viability of third party audits to ensure sustainable harvest.

Oregon

Southwest Oregon RC&D Council

$100,000

Improve forest health across the landscape of the Rogue River Watershed by accelerating the removal of uncharacteristically high densities of small- diameter trees while working to increase the utilization and value of such material.

Oregon

Lane County Government

$95,000

Start a multi-party collaborative initiative to attract grants, equity, and debt to help build a cellulosic ethanol industry in western Oregon. Will develop a path to process and utilize 50,000 green tons of woody biomass to produce 2 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol on public and private forestlands.

Virginia

Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University

$99,676

Develop a forest land care industry to improve green infrastructure in Virginia's headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay, Albemarle Sound, and Mississippi River Basins

Wisconsin

River Country RC&D Council

$97,650

The rugged and fragile landscape of the Driftless Area blends steep slopes and fragile, productive soils with an unusually high diversity of habitat for threatened and endangered species, and abundant game populations. The DAI believes that one of the keys to sustainable and economical logging of woody biomass in the Driftless Area may already exist with current technology in use in the Pacific Northwest. Excavator-based cable yarding systems have been used successfully in Oregon to affordably log steep slopes with minimal impact on the residual stand and forest floor. We propose to conduct a minimum of three excavator-based cable yarding demonstrations throughout the four-state area.

Wisconsin

Southwest Badger RC&D

$99,640

Implement a pilot project to determine the true costs of sustainably harvesting woody biomass in the driftless area of the Upper Midwest. In addition, this project will determine the average woody biomass yield and projected harvesting schedules for woodlands in the driftless area of the Midwest.

Wyoming

Western Wyoming RC&D Council

$100,000

Develop a woody biomass utilization program and restore a wood products infrastructure. Evaluate three log sort yards and uses for the biomass generated from forest restoration projects, conduct a series of public education programs, and fund a full-time stewardship contracting coordinator.