The U.S. Forest Service has introduced the supply of Hazardous Fuels Transportation Help grants, geared toward supporting initiatives that take away hazardous fuels from nationwide forests and grasslands. These grants are designed to reinforce forest well being and resilience, cut back wildfire threat, and help native forest product amenities and rural economies.
Objective and Affect
The Hazardous Fuels Transportation Help program is a vital part of the Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Danger Discount Technique. By offering monetary help for the transportation of hazardous fuels to places the place they are often utilized for wooden services and products, this system contributes to decreasing wildfire threat and sustaining the well being of nationwide forests. This system additionally helps the forest merchandise trade, which performs an important position in forest restoration efforts.
Funding and Eligibility
The Forest Service anticipates awarding as much as $25 million by means of this funding alternative. Grants will probably be offered to numerous candidates, together with manufacturing amenities, wooden vitality suppliers, logging contractors, and organizations supporting underserved communities. Eligible entities embody for-profit and non-profit organizations, U.S. state and native governments, tribal entities, and academic establishments.
To qualify, initiatives should deal with the removing of hazardous fuels from Nationwide Forest System lands or reveal a transparent profit to those lands. Purposes might embody a number of contracts and agreements, with a most mixed funding request of $5 million per applicant. A 50% match contribution is required for every undertaking, and candidates should reveal that transportation prices are a limiting issue to undertaking viability.
Software Course of and Standards
Purposes should be submitted by way of electronic mail to the Forest Service at NFSWOHFTA@usda.gov. The appliance bundle ought to embody a canopy web page, undertaking narrative, detailed funds, monetary statements, and different supporting paperwork. Proposals will probably be evaluated based mostly on a number of standards, together with the therapy of precedence hazardous fuels, quantity transported, profit to deprived communities, cost-effectiveness, and readiness for implementation.
Public Webinars
To help candidates, the Forest Service will host public webinars on August 16, August 21, and August 28, 2024. These webinars, held in partnership with the Nationwide Wild Turkey Federation, will present steering on the appliance course of and supply alternatives for contributors to ask questions. Superior registration is required.
Background
This grant program is funded by the Inflation Discount Act and is permitted underneath the Wooden Improvements grant program of the Agricultural Enchancment Act of 2018. The initiative aligns with the U.S. Division of Agriculture’s Wildfire Disaster Technique, which was introduced in January 2022 to handle the growing threat of wildfires and promote sustainable forest administration.
For extra data on the Hazardous Fuels Transportation Help grants and to entry software particulars, go to the Forest Service’s official web site or contact NFSWOHFTA@usda.gov.
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