The Biden administration and the U.S. Forest Service announced $31.1 million in funding for 15 projects through the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP), a U.S. Department of Agriculture press release said this week.
The program's goals are to reduce the risk of wildfires, create jobs and support local economies, and strengthen forest and watershed health in eight states.
"The selected projects will enhance the work already accomplished through the program," Forest Service Chief Randy Moore said in the release. "Together, they highlight the widespread support of the work to improve the nation's natural resources for the benefit of everyone. The infusion of funding augments the work we do with other governments and partners around other important work such as improvements to infrastructure and the 10-year wildfire strategy. The Collaborative Forest Restoration Program is working for all Americans."
The projects are located in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington.
The CFLRP was launched in 2009 and has lowered the risk of catastrophic wildfire on over 4.5 million acres, which is the combined size of Connecticut and Rhode Island, the release said.
"The projects also supported more than $2.3 billion in total labor income and engaged more than 420 organizations in local collaborative work alongside landowners and interested individuals," the release said. "These landscape restoration activities established 224,000 acres of forest vegetation by planting, seeding and natural regeneration while also reducing or eradicating invasive plants across 210,000 acres. Restoration also enhanced more than 1,760 miles of stream habitat."
