The national program is intended to help improve forest restoration by using and creating markets for small-diameter material and low-valued trees removed from hazardous fuel reduction and forest health activities. These funds are targeted to help communities, entrepreneurs, and others turn residues from hazardous fuel reduction and forest health projects into marketable forest products and/or energy products.

In the past successful grant applicants have typically purchased either harvesting or processing equipment to add value to woody biomass.  Check out the 2009 projects list and map to get an idea of successful projects. 

There are a number of key changes from previous years: 

• Funding amount: potentially up to $10m available – not guaranteed  [up from $4m in previous years]
• Individual projects: $50,000 (min)-$350,000 (max) [up from $250,000 max previously]
• Allocation of funds: 50% of funds will target high priority National Forests.  The other 50% will target low priority National Forests and other eligible forests [previously targeted National Forests only].
• Timeline:
  • Pre-application deadline November 20th 2009
  • Full application deadline April 2nd 2010

We will post further information here as necesssary.  Look out for some grant workshops soon.

The Forest Service's State and Private Forestry, Technology Marketing Unit, at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, administers the program.

The successful projects are listed below.  Check back soon to see a map of where they are located and details on the 2010 program. 

Rover Shavings & Post, Inc, Rover, AR - $250,000

Pure Wood Products, LLC, Pinetop, AZ - $250,000

California Wood Shavings, Inc, Jamestown, CA - $249,550

CLT Logging, Inc, Grenada, CA - $250,000

Franklin Logging, Inc, Bella Vista, CA - $250,000

Scott Dunn Logging, Fortuna, CA - $250,000

Trinity River Lumber Company, Weaverville, CA - $250,000

Independent Log Company, Alamosa, CO - $250,000

Intermountain Resources, LLC, Montrose, CO - $250,000

Rogue Resources, Inc./More Lumber, Milner, CO - $250,000

Idaho Forest Group, LLC, Athol, ID - $250,000

Eagle Stud Mill, Inc, Missoula, MT - $250,000

Eureka Pellet Mills, Inc, Missoula, MT - $250,000

Southwest Piñon, Inc, Datil, NM - $250,000

Community Smallwood Solutions, Wallowa, OR - $249,819

Marubeni Sustainable Energy, Lakeview, OR - $250,000

Olson Brothers Enterprises, LLC, Crivitz, WI - $250,000

Another announcement was made today by the USDA regarding Forest
Service American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds.  The announcement by Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan concerns 30 projects valued at approximtately $57m.  The projects are categorized into biomass utilization and wood-to-energy.  California is shown to have 2 projects, both in the Northwest part of the state, with a combined total value of $4,748,000.  We have updated the Forest Service ARRA projects list in the document library.  It provides some more (relatively limited) detail on the projects funded across the US.  We will update this post with further information as we receive it. 

Link to USDA news release

Link to Forest Service ARRA projects list

Link to Forest Service website

Today Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announced American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Projects for Forest Road Maintenance and Associated Watershed and Ecosystem Restoration. Four projects in California with a total value of $24.9m are identified in the $228m allocated. 

Over 40 people came to the stewardship contracting and woody biomass utilization workshop at the Heritage Ag Complex in Tulare recently. About one third of the audience came from Sierra and Sequoia National Forests with representatives from local industry and the community also in attendance. 

[Left to right] Discussing the handling of mill waste (residuals), chips and bark, processed bark, urban wood waste with power plant in background