Initiative will help tribes, Native Hawaiians and others access
resources and private markets for resilient reforestation
PINE BLUFF, Ariz.,
March 28,
2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The USDA Forest Service
has awarded American Forests $12
million to help tribes and underserved communities
access financial and technical support for resilient
reforestation.
This strategically directed funding from
the IRA will enable leaders in forestry to work side-by-side with
native and tribal partners as well as underserved private
landowners to return healthy and resilient forests to our
landscapes. - Jad Daley, president
and CEO of American Forests.
Over the next three years, American Forests will collaborate
with the Forest Service and numerous partners to make resilient
reforestation more affordable and accessible for underserved
landowners, including federally recognized tribes and Native
Hawaiian organizations.
Underserved landowners often encounter financial, cultural and
social barriers to reforestation, including discrimination. The
high up-front costs of forest restoration, including expenses for
land preparation and the cost of seedlings, present additional
challenges.
Through the award, American Forests and partnering organizations
will help forest owners participate in emerging private markets for
resilient reforestation. Private markets, which include markets for
carbon, clean water and biodiversity, compensate forest owners for
the ecological benefits of restored forests – creating new sources
of revenue for the owners.
American Forests has been pioneering an innovative approach that
enables landowners to use private market financing to cover the
high upfront costs of resilient reforestation, while tracking the
ecological outcomes of the investment. The new award will expand
American Forests' ability to apply this approach to underserved
landowners.
Landowners will also receive technical assistance to support
climate-informed resilient reforestation projects. American Forests
will support project planning, implementation and monitoring,
integrating Indigenous knowledge with the best available climate
science to create ecologically-rich forests adapted to the
stressors of a changing climate, including drought and
wildfire.
"Many tribes across Indian Country are looking to develop carbon
projects that actively address climate change and implement
sustainable management practices on their lands," said Bryan Van Stippen, program director with the
National Indian Carbon Coalition. "By using the revenue from these
carbon sequestration projects, tribes will be able to mitigate and
adapt to some of that change that's going to happen to their land
over the next 30 to 40 years."
The initiative will support more than 10 tribes and 1,000
landowners seeking to restore forests damaged by deforestation and
disasters, like wildfire and disease. Altogether, funded American
Forests projects are projected to plant two million trees and
remove over one million metric tons of atmospheric carbon.
The award is one of twenty announced that will be receiving a
total of $116 million from the Forest
Service through the Forest Landowner Support Program. Funded by the
Inflation Reduction Act, the program is investing $145 million in organizations that support
underserved and small-acreage forest owners.
"This strategically directed funding from the Inflation
Reduction Act will enable leaders in forestry to work side-by-side
with native and tribal partners as well as underserved private
landowners to return healthy and resilient forests to our
landscapes," said Jad Daley,
president and CEO of American Forests.
"About 60 percent of all forests in the U.S. are on
privately-owned and tribal lands. By working together to remove
barriers long-faced by land stewards, we can unlock new
reforestation opportunities and innovative ways to finance this
work into the future for our communities and our climate."
About American Forests
American Forests is the first national nonprofit conservation
organization created in the U.S. Since its founding in 1875, the
organization has been the pathfinders for the forest conservation
movement. Its mission is to create healthy and resilient forests,
from cities to large natural landscapes, that deliver essential
benefits for climate, people, water and wildlife. The organization
advances its mission through forestry, innovation, place-based
partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building.
For more information visit: http://www.americanforests.org.
Media Contact
Alexis Keith, American Forests,
775-446-0273, americanforests@theabbiagency.com
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SOURCE American Forests