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All non-State Forestry Agency applications (except Tribes) must have a letter of support from the State Forestry Agency when submitting in Grants.gov.The USDA Forest Service State Fire Capacity (SFC) Hazard Mitigation priorities are consistent with the goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (https://forestsandrangelands.gov/strategy/thestrategy.shtml), specifically as listed below.1. Restore and Maintain Landscapes: Landscapes across all jurisdictions are resilient to fire-related disturbances, in accordance with management objectives.2. Create Fire Adapted Communities: Human populations and infrastructure can withstand a wildfire without loss of life or property.Additionally, SFC priorities reflect the national USFS priorities of improving the condition of forests, and grasslands, promoting shared stewardship by increasing partnerships and volunteerism, and by being good neighbors and providing excellent customer service.SFC Hazard Mitigation application activities should clearly focus on identifying and creating fire adapted communities by:• Reducing hazardous fuels in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)• Developing, and implementing Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs)• Providing prevention and mitigation education, and/or• By achieving Fire Adapted Community and Firewise programming and other community hazard mitigation activities.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, State and Private Forestry, Cooperative Forestry staff, requests applications for the Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program (Community Forest Program or CFP). This is a competitive grant program whereby local governments, qualified nonprofit organizations, and Indian tribes are eligible to apply for grants to establish community forests through the fee simple acquisition of private forest land from a willing seller. Interested local government and nonprofit applicants must submit applications to the State Forester. Tribal applicants must submit applications to the appropriate Tribal government officials. All applications, either hardcopy or electronic, must be received by State Foresters or Tribal governments by March 31, 2023.The purpose of the program is to establish community forests by protecting forest land from conversion to non-forest uses and provide community benefits such as sustainable forest management, environmental benefits including clean air, water, and wildlife habitat; benefits from forest-based educational programs; benefits from serving as models of effective forest stewardship; and recreational benefits secured with public access.Eligible lands for grants funded under this program are private forest that is at least five acres in size, suitable to sustain natural vegetation, and at least 75 percent forested. The lands must also be threatened by conversion to nonforest uses, must not be held in trust by the United States on behalf of any Indian Tribe, must not be Tribal allotment lands, must be offered for sale by a willing seller, and if acquired by an eligible entity, must provide defined community benefits under CFP and allow public access.

The U.S. Forest Service supports Moving Toward Shared Stewardship Across Landscapes as part of a conceptual framework for making strategic investments across landscapes to co-manage wildfire risk and achieve positive outcomes at the most appropriate scale. Within this framework, Eastern Region Cohesive Fire Strategy Competitive Request for Applications is designed to support and carry out the first two goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (NCS) across the Midwestern and Northeastern States as well as meet the intent of the current year budget direction. These first two national goals are: Restore and Maintain Landscapes: Landscapes across all jurisdictions are resilient to fire-related disturbances in accordance with management objectives. Create Fire Adapted Communities: Human populations and infrastructure can withstand a wildfire without loss of life and property.

The USDA Forest Service requests proposals to substantially expand and accelerate wood energy and wood products markets throughout the United States to support forest management needs on National Forest System and other forest lands. The grants and agreements awarded under this announcement will support the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 Pub. L. 115-334 Sec. 8643, Rural Revitalization Technologies 7 U.S.C. Sec. 6601, and Inflation Reduction Act Pub. L. 117-169 SEC. 23002 to meet the nationwide challenge of disposing of hazardous fuels and other wood residues from the National Forest System and other U.S. forest lands in a manner that supports wood products and wood energy markets. 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. 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: 1. 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. 2. Developing manufacturing capacity, other necessary wood products infrastructure, and markets for wood products that support forest ecosystem restoration. 3. 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. 4. Establishing statewide wood utilization teams and statewide wood energy teams. Only proposals from States without an existing (or former) team will be considered. 5. Developing a cluster of wood energy projects in a geographic area or specific sector (e.g., prisons, hospitals, universities, manufacturing sector, or industrial sector). 6. Overcoming market barriers and stimulating expansion of wood energy in the commercial sector. A pre-recorded webcast that presents information on applying for this funding opportunity can be found at https://vimeo.com/791977840 Additional details on the funding opportunity can be found at Wood Innovations Home page Instructions on how to apply for funding and the official application can be downloaded at the following weblinks. Instructions FY23 Wood Innovations Funding Opportunity Application Form (FS-1500-050) FY23 Wood Innovations Funding Opportunity

The USDA Forest Service is delivering the Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program (CWEWIP) to support the Rural Revitalization Technologies 7 U.S.C. Sec. 8113 and Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 Pub. L. 115-334 Sec. 9013, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) Pub. L. 117-58 Div. J Title VI which directly support the installation of thermally led community wood energy systems or development and expansion of innovative wood product facilities. The intent of the CWEWIP is to support forest health and stimulate local economies by expanding renewable wood energy use and innovative wood products manufacturing capacity. The Forest Service solicits proposals for projects that will achieve the following: 1. Expand thermally led community wood energy or innovative wood product opportunities; 2. Improve Forest health; and 3. Stimulate local economies. This funding opportunity is intended for shovel ready projects that will not require additional funding or time to complete after the award period. Examples of eligible projects include, but are not limited to: 1. Install a thermally led community wood energy system for heating, cooling, and/or electricity that replaces fossil fuels such as coal, oil, propane, or natural gas. 2. Purchase and install manufacturing equipment at a mass timber production facility. 3. Expand a sawmill to add higher value production lines that incorporate innovative technologies and cost cutting measures. 4. Purchase and install equipment at a new facility to produce biofuels from forest residues. All awards are based on funding availability. The Forest Service plans to award up to $17 million in total awards under this announcement. The maximum for each award is $1 million to pay for up to 35% of total capital costs. The Forest Service may consider awarding up to $1.5 million (for up to 50% of total capital costs) for a proposal that warrants special consideration, especially for projects located in areas of high unemployment. Matching funds are not required; however, leveraging is required. Applicants must contribute the remaining funds (leveraged funds) necessary to complete the project above and beyond the requested Forest Service funding. For example, if an applicant requests Forest Service funding for 35% of the total capital costs of the project, then the applicant must commit to providing 65% of the total capital costs of the project. In this example, the 65% of the total capital costs are considered the required leveraged funds. Even though leveraged funds have a lower reporting burden and fewer legal requirements than matching funds, applicants must adhere to requirements for leveraged funds. Leveraged funds must be from non-federal sources and be committed within the grant timeframe. Moreover, if third-party organizations contribute to the leveraged funds requirement, then applicants must submit with their proposal package commitment letters from the third-party organizations confirming the amount of leveraging being committed. A pre-recorded webcast that presents information on applying for this funding opportunity can be found at FY23 Community Wood Program Informational Webcast on Vimeo Additional details on the funding opportunity can be found at Wood Innovations Homepage Instructions on how to apply for funding and the official application can be downloaded at the following weblinks. Instructions FY23 Community Wood Program Application Form (FS-1500-0051) FY23 Community Wood Program

The USDA Forest Service is announcing the availability of up to $12.5 million in funding to provide financial assistance to facilities that purchase and process byproducts from ecosystem restoration projects from federal or Indian lands in areas at risk of unnaturally severe wildfire or insect and disease infestation. The intent is to substantially decrease the cost of conducting restoration projects involving vegetation removal on federal or Indian lands. These byproducts could include the trees and woody biomass harvested through timber sales, thinning, hazardous fuels reduction treatments, or other restoration management activities.Funding priority will be to provide financial assistance to an entity seeking to establish, reopen, retrofit, expand, or improve a sawmill or other wood-processing facility that will utilize the byproducts from projects on federal land of Indian land that have been identified as at risk for fire, insect, or disease and a high priority for ecological restoration. To be eligible for funding, the project facility must be in close proximity to federal or Indian lands and procure raw materials from federal or Indian lands. Successful applicants will address how financial support will enable increased utilization of byproducts from ecosystem restoration projects on federal or Indian lands that are in close proximity to a wood products processing facility or bioenergy facility and how this assistance will help reduce restoration costs.The grants and agreements awarded under this announcement will support the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Pub. L. 117-58 (11/15/2021), Sec. 40804(b)3.

The USDA Forest Service is announcing the availability of up to $8 million in funding to support the establishment of temporary bridge rental programs for portable skidder bridges, bridge mats, or other temporary water crossing structures, to minimize stream bed disturbance on non-Federal land and Federal land.

States need to build and maintain capacity around invasive species work to accomplish the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's (BIL) broader ecosystem restoration objective and the invasive species provision. For example, funds may be used to conduct forest health management, including detection surveys, monitoring, evaluation, prevention, and suppression of insect, disease, and invasive plant outbreaks on non-Federal lands to strategically sustain the health of forest ecosystems or tree species with high ecological value. tes need to build and maintain capacity around invasive species work to accomplish BIL’s broader ecosystem restoration objec ti ve and t he invasive species provision . For example, funds may be used to conduct forest health management, including detection surveys, monitoring, evaluation, prevention, and suppression of insect, disease, and invasive plant outbreaks on non - Federal lands to strategically sustain the health of forest ecosystems or tree specie s with high ecological value by taking stronger action in the earl y phases of the invasion curve at regional or sub - regional scales and at points of entry 1 .

As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's (BIL) broader ecosystem restoration objective, the non-federal lands portion of the invasive species provision enables the USDA-Forest Service, States, and other agencies to strategically sustain the health of forest ecosystems or tree species with high ecological value by taking stronger action in the early phases ofthe invasion curve at regional or sub-regional scales and at points of entry. Specifically, we aim towork collaboratively to scale-up the implementation of management actions in the field for the prevention of introductions or spread, prevention of damage, early detection of introductions, rapid response and eradication of invasive forest insects, worms, pathogens, and plants. It is expected that new projects will be complementary to existing cooperative and federal forest health protection programs and will sustain high value forest ecosystems or tree species (see, e.g., multi-state priority areas identified in State Forest Action Plans (SFAPs) or Northeast-Midwest State Foresters Alliance, Forest Health Committee (NMSFA FHC) 2021 priority needs document).

The goal of this program is to detect, prevent, eradicate, and/or control invasive plant species to promote ecological resiliency, watershed stability, and biological diversity on Federal, State, other public or private lands in the Great Lakes Basin. An informational webinar for prospective applicants is scheduled for September 20, 2022, 10:00 am Central/9:00 am Eastern. The webinar will be recorded for later viewing. See the USFS GLRI CWMA website and Webinar Information document in the Related Documents tab for connection information.