U.S. Forest Service Announces Funding to Local Businesses and Underserved Populations to Reduce Wildfire Risk

$25M Funding Opportunity to Reduce Wildfire Risk

August 6, 2024 – The U.S. Forest Service announced a funding opportunity through the Hazardous Fuels Transportation Assistance program to reduce wildfire risk, increase market opportunities, and support local jobs. 

The program is available to local businesses that remove hazardous fuels from national forests and transport the material to be processed for wood products or services. Transporting the materials out of the national forest prevents them from being burned in the forests or left in place where they are subject to insects and diseases that increase the risk for wildfire.

The funding focuses on the removal of hazardous fuels with little commercial value, creating economic opportunities while improving overall forest health and resilience. 

$15M to Help Underserved and Small-Acreage Landowners Access Climate Markets

August 28, 2024 – The U.S. Forest Service  announced it is investing $15 million to connect underserved and small-acreage forest landowners with emerging climate markets. These investments will expand access to markets that were previously out-of-reach for underserved and small-acreage landowners to access new economic opportunities to maintain healthy working forests as pressures increase to convert forests to other uses. In California, nearly $2 million will go to the Shelterwood Collective, a 900-acre Indigenous, Black, Disabled, and Queer-led community forest and collective of land protectors and cultural changemakers.