Section 23002 of the IRA appropriates the following amounts to USDA:
1) $150 million for a competitive grant program under section 13A of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, 16 U.S.C. § 2109a, to provide funding to underserved forest landowners for climate mitigation or forest resilience practices;
2) $150 million for a competitive grant program under section 13A of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, to provide funding to underserved forest landowners in emerging private markets for climate mitigation or forest resilience;
3) $100 million for a competitive grant program under section 13A of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, to provide funding to forest landowners who own less than 2,500 acres of forest land in in emerging private markets for climate mitigation or forest resilience;
4) $50 million for a competitive grant program under section 13A of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, to provide funding to states and other eligible entities to pay owners of private forest lands to implement forestry practices that are determined by USDA, based on the best available science, to provide measurable increases in carbon sequestration and storage;
5) $100 million for a wood innovation grant program under section 8643 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, 7 U.S.C. § 7655d, including for the construction of new facilities and for the removal of material to reduce hazardous fuels to locations where such can be materialized.
The amount of each wood innovation grant issued under program (5) above must not exceed $5 million and the recipient must provide funds equal to at least 50% of the amount received. For other programs, where USDA enters into partnership agreements with the grant recipient, those agreements will be “subject to a non-Federal cost-share requirement of not less than 20 percent of the project cost,” unless that requirement is waived by USDA.
The amounts appropriated under section 23002 of the IRA shall remain available until September 30, 2031.
Eligible Entities:
Environmental Justice Considerations:
This section makes references made to underserved forest landowners and provides opportunities for waiver of non-federal cost share requirements at the Department of Agriculture’s discretion.
Agency Actions:
- USDA Announces $145 Million to Help Forest Landowners Access Emerging Climate Markets
- USDA Announces $20 Million in IRA Funds to Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations to Address Climate Change
- USDA Announces $50 Million for Innovative Wood Uses
- USDA Announces $150M to Connect Underserved and Small Acreage Forest Landowners to Emerging Climate Markets
- White House Releases IRA Guidebook for Tribes
- USDA Forest Service Invites Wood Grant Program Applications