Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry Acting Director Mike Dudley announced on July 14 that the U.S. Forest Service will fund six projects that will hopefully enhance hardwood forests in the eastern part of the country. The selected projects encourage innovation and the sharing of processing and marketing knowledge among wood products manufacturers in the eastern United States. The primary goal of the Forest Service grants is to keep local wood businesses globally competitive and sustainable.
The current grant recipients include: Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, North Carolina State University, University of Minnesota Duluth, Virginia Tech University, and West Virginia University. The maximum grant amount is $80,000 and recipients are required to match federal funds, dollar for dollar. The six selected projects will collectively provide matching funds in excess of the total grant amount of $288,257. When combined, these grants will be used to invest approximately $629,793 into forest management and forest products businesses. Four of the projects will address keeping the hardwood industry economically competitive and involve wood utilization and invasive species, with grant awards totaling $227,124. The other two projects will focus on developing new technologies and markets in light of invasive species, with grant awards totaling $61,133.
Funding is provided through the U.S. Forest Service Wood Education and Resource Center located in Princeton, W.Va., and administered by the agency’s Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry organization. The Center’s mission is to work with the forest products industry toward sustainable forest products production for the eastern hardwood forest region, and to provide state-of-the-art training, technology transfer, networking opportunities, applied research, and information.
“An important part of improving the health and stewardship of hardwood forests is to maintain a vibrant forest products industry that can sustainably use lower-value trees to provide locally produced wood products we use in our daily lives as well as help our citizens with their energy needs,” comments Dudley. “These projects also address forest health and urban wood utilization issues. Ultimately, these projects provide resources for hardwood industries to remain economically competitive in a global market.”