The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is directing $150 million from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act toward underserved and small-acreage forest landowners to support forest management and promote enduring health and resilience across privately owned lands, the agency announced in an Aug. 22 press release.
"Working forests are the cornerstone of local economies and play a key role in mitigating the effects of climate change," USFS Chief Randy Moore said in the press release. "As private land owners face increasing pressures to convert their forests to other uses, we are helping underserved and small-acreage landowners to access new economic opportunities to ensure working forests remain intact."
"Without financial incentives, underserved and small-acreage landowners may not have the resources to manage forests for long-term health and resilience," Moore said. "Without proper management, forests are more susceptible to pests, disease, catastrophic wildfires, loss of wildlife habitat and reduced water quality for downstream users."
The USFS, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), said its $150 million commitment aims to connect underserved and small-acreage forest landowners with "emerging voluntary climate markets," with the overarching goal of nurturing the sustained well-being and robustness of private lands. The Inflation Reduction Act is a significant climate-focused investment, the largest of its kind in history, the USDA said in the release.
These climate markets, according to the USDA, have the potential to open up economic prospects for landowners and encourage enhanced forest well-being and supervision. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled this funding prospect during the Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Conference, coinciding with the one-year commemoration of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The announcement advances the investments made in forest health initiatives under Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including the establishment of competitive grants for non-federal forest landowners, the USDA said. Forests are powerful tools in the battle against climate change, and newly emerging private-sector markets are now forging economic incentives to ensure forest vitality and productivity through activities like reforestation and sustainable forest management, the news release said.
Yet, the substantial land area prerequisites and formidable initial expenses have led to the exclusion of numerous private forest owners with limited acreage and resources, the news release said. The unveiled investments are poised to broaden entry into markets that were previously beyond reach, enabling underserved and small-acreage forest landowners to actively combat climate change, while simultaneously bolstering rural economies, upholding land ownership for forthcoming generations, and safeguarding private forestlands against escalating development pressures, the release said.
"Healthy, resilient forests store carbon, provide critical habitat for wildlife, and grow forest resources that are the lifeblood of communities across the country," Vilsack said in the release. "So much of our nation's forest land is privately owned, and, thanks to historic resources made possible by President Biden's Investing in America agenda, these private landowners will have an opportunity to be part of the solution to the climate crisis, no matter their background and no matter their means."
