Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is making $190 million available to help private forest landowners adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change and retain working forestlands.
“Climate change threatens people, communities, infrastructure, and natural resources across the country,” said Secretary Vilsack. “Healthy, resilient forests can better withstand climate change impacts, and contribute to climate solutions by storing additional carbon. Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, we are partnering with states and nonprofits to reduce financial barriers for landowners interested in adopting climate-smart forestry practices and making their lands more resilient to climate change. These strategic investments represent our commitment to an all-lands, all-hands approach to investing in rural communities and mitigating the climate crisis.”
Of the total, $140 million is available to support state-endorsed cost-share programs for landowners. Cost-share payments lower the financial barriers for landowners to adapt to climate change by making forests more resilient to changing climate conditions, and to store more carbon on the landscape.
Additionally, $50 million is available to programs that issue payments directly to landowners to adopt practices that increase carbon sequestration and storage of their forests. Forest management impacts the amount of carbon stored and sequestered, and this funding opportunity incentivizes carbon stewardship.
For more information about the available funding opportunity, including eligibility and how to apply, visit the Forest Service’s Forest Landowner Support webpage.
USDA news release
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