The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service announced up to $95 million in competitive grant funding through its Wood Innovations program for projects that advance innovative wood uses, expand wood-based construction, and grow U.S. wood energy markets and forest product processing capacity.
The funding is available through the Wood Innovations Grant, Community Wood Grant, and Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance Grant programs, the agency said in a news release.
The funding targets projects to develop innovative wood products, increase the use of wood in commercial and residential construction, expand wood energy systems, and modernize, retrofit, or increase the capacity of wood products manufacturing facilities.
Eligible applicants include private businesses, for-profit and non-profit organizations, tribes, state and local governments, institutions of higher education, and public utility, fire, conservation, and school districts.
The Forest Service said the investments align with President Trump’s Executive Order on Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production and Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins’ direction for the agency to ramp up active forest management to improve forest health, reduce wildfire risk, and support rural prosperity.
The agency said byproducts from forest management activity, including small diameter timber and woody biomass, have historically had limited market value, and the grant programs aim to expand uses for that material in wood products.
