Tom Vilsack Secretary of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) | Official Website
On May 14, 2024, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small announced that the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is investing nearly $74 million to foster innovation and create new markets for wood products and renewable wood energy. This investment is aimed at increasing the capacity of wood processing facilities as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.
The funding, which is made possible in part by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, will support 171 project proposals across 41 States and American Samoa. These projects are intended to bolster forest health and stimulate the wood products economy.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to supporting innovation in the wood products and wood energy economies, which are at the heart of so many small towns, especially in Tribal and rural communities,” said Deputy Secretary Torres Small. “These investments will support good paying jobs for families and communities. It will increase the economy’s capacity to manufacture wood products. In turn, sustainably sourcing the wood used to manufacture these products will make our forests healthier and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires.”
Sustainable sourcing for wood products directly aids efforts to improve forest health. By removing dead trees and overgrown vegetation, wildfire risk can be reduced while improving forest health, creating wildlife habitat, and supporting the forest products economy.
The Forest Service plans to award grants through its Wood Innovations Grant, Community Wood Grant, and Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance Grant Programs. These grants will fund proposals that aim to increase demand for sustainably sourced wood and create innovative uses for it.
As part of this initiative, more than $7 million will be provided to ten project proposals from Tribes that will directly support Tribally owned businesses and project proposals from Tribal governments. This move is one way in which the agency plans to strengthen Tribal consultation and nation-to-nation relationships.
In conclusion, USDA continues its commitment towards transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean-energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
