U.S. Forest Service: Wood Innovations Grant for Sustainable Forest Management and Market Expansion

The U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) requests proposals for projects that will substantially expand and accelerate wood products and wood energy 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), Rural Revitalization Technologies (7 U.S.C. 6601), and 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 Wood Innovations program goals:

1. Reduce hazardous fuels and improve forest health on National Forest System and other forest lands.
2. Reduce the costs of forest management on all land types.
3. Promote economic and environmental health of communities.

Examples of eligible projects include, but are not limited to:

1. Completing requirements, such as architectural and engineering designs, cost analyses, and permitting necessary for 1) commercial construction projects that use wood as a primary building material, and 2) wood energy project development to secure financing. Early phase project development proposals and feasibility studies will not be competitive.
2. Establishing or increasing wood products manufacturing capacity and/or markets that support forest ecosystem restoration 
3. Showcasing quantifiable environmental and economic benefits of using wood as a sustainable building material in a constructed commercial building to increase acceptance and encourage growth in the construction industry.
4. Establishing statewide wood utilization teams or statewide wood energy teams. Only proposals from States without an existing or former team will be considered. Current teams are found on this map (https://www.fs.usda.gov/naspf/sites/default/files/media_wysiwyg/swet_swut_map_20201001_0.jpg).
5. Developing a cluster of wood energy projects in a geographic area or specific sector; or installing a wood energy system at a facility (e.g., prisons, hospitals, universities, manufacturing or industrial sector) that will use forest woody biomass or forest products manufacturing residues.
6. Developing commercial wood biomass and wood product utilization industrial parks.
7. Overcoming market barriers and stimulating expansion of wood energy in the institutional, commercial, or industrial sectors. 
8. Implementing applied research projects that engage with or involve industry partners to resolve gaps in practical knowledge that can lead to readily applied advances in the wood products or wood energy market.
9. Stationary wood energy equipment.

All awards are based on funding availability.  The Forest Service plans to award up to $8 million under this announcement. The maximum for each award is generally $250,000; however, the Forest Service may consider awarding more to a proposal that demonstrates the ability to have a significant and sizeable impact on wood product or energy markets.

Applicants must contribute matching funds equal to at least 100% of the Forest Service requested funds. This means for every $1 of Federal funding requested applicants must provide at least $1 in match. For example, if the requested Federal amount is $100,000, the applicant match must be at least $100,000 or more. Applicant match must come from non-Federal sources. The match may include cash or in-kind contributions. All matching funds must be directly related to the proposed project. 

The Forest Service will hold an informational Pre-Application Webinar on this and another related grant opportunity on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time to provide information and answer questions. The webinar can be accessed at: https://usfs.adobeconnect.com/wood-innovations/. To call in by phone, dial: 888-844-9904 and use access code 9780832.

Individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 800-877-8339, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including holidays.