U.S. Forest Service Wood Innovations Grant for Forest Management & Wood Market Expansion

The U.S. Forest Service requests proposals to substantially expand and accelerate wood energy and wood products markets throughout the United States to support forest management needs on National Forest System and other forest lands.

This Request for Proposals focuses on the following priorities to:

• Reduce hazardous fuels and improve forest health on National Forest System and other forestlands. 

• Reduce costs of forest management on all land types.

• Promote economic and environmental health of communities.

The intent of the Wood Innovations Funding Opportunity is to stimulate, expand, and support wood products markets and wood energy markets.

Projects can include, but are not limited to: 

1. Completing requirements, such as engineering designs, cost analyses, and permitting necessary, in the later stages of commercial construction projects that use wood as a primary building material and in the later stages of wood energy project development to secure financing. Early phase project development proposals will not be competitive.

2. Developing manufacturing capacity, other necessary wood products infrastructure, and markets for wood products that support forest ecosystem restoration.

3. Showcasing quantifiable environmental and economic benefits of using wood as a sustainable building material in an actual commercial building and the projected benefits achieved if replicated across the United States based on commercial construction market trends.

4. Establishing statewide wood utilization teams and statewide wood energy teams. Only proposals from States without an existing (or former) team will be considered. 

5. Developing a cluster of wood energy projects in a geographic area or specific sector (e.g., prisons, hospitals, universities, manufacturing sector, or industrial sector).

6. Overcoming market barriers and stimulating expansion of wood energy in the commercial sector.

The Forest Service will hold an informational Pre-Application Webinar on this and another related grant opportunity on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 2:00p.m. Eastern Standard Time to provide information and answer questions. The link is usfs.adobeconnect.com/wood-innovations/. For audio, dial in by phone: 888-844-9904; 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. https://www.federalrelay.us/tty/.

Additional details on the funding opportunity can be found at Wood Innovations Home page

Instructions on how to apply for funding and the official application can be downloaded at the following weblinks.

Request for Proposals and Instructions – Wood Innovations Funding Opportunity, Fiscal Year 2022

Application – Wood Innovations Funding Opportunity, Fiscal Year 2022