Forestry improvement grant deadlines announced

The Wisconsin Division of Forestry announced deadlines for applications for large matching grants funded by the U.S. Forest Service, with the first deadline hitting at the end of August.

The competitively awarded grants of $25,000 or more will provide an equal federal match for forestry projects that fit Wisconsin’s forest action plans that were established in 2010.

The first deadline of August 30 is for requests for a Division of Forestry liaison person to help with the application process. Interested landowners should e-mail paul.fricken@wisconsin.gov by month end. Drafts of grant applications are due on Sept. 13. They will be ranked by the state Division of Forestry in September, and Wisconsin endorsed grant applications will be announced on Sept. 30. They will be submitted to the U.S. Forest Service (USDA) on Oct. 11 with letters of endorsement and the U.S. Forest Service will announce which grants will be funded by year end.

The Division of Forestry announcement emphasized applications that improved water quality, and watershed health and that would make improvements across land ownership boundaries.

Projects should contain purpose statements that “encourage collaborative, science-based restoration of priority forest landscapes” and should also contain these components:

• Project Scale – Emphasis on “landscape scale”.

• Collaboration – Projects should identify partners that are actively engaged and add value towards project planning and implementation.

• Outcomes – Projects are encouraged to prioritize funding and other resources towards one or more of the objectives identified below. Projects that display how this investment will lead to measurable outcomes on the landscape will be given preference.

Here are some important outcomes identified in the announcement of the grant program:

1. Reduce the risk of uncharacteristic wildfires;
2. Improve fish and wildlife habitats, including for threatened and endangered species;
3. Maintain or improve water quality and watershed function;
4. Mitigate invasive species, insect infestation, and disease;
5. Improve important forest ecosystems;
6. Measure ecological and economic benefits including air quality and soil quality and productivity.
7. Integrated Delivery – Projects should seek to improve the delivery of public benefits from forest management by coordinating with complementary state and federal programs and partnership efforts when possible..
8. Leverage – Projects should maximize grant funding by using it to leverage contributions from both federal and non-federal entities. Project applications need to clearly identify requested funds and associated non-federal contributions.
9. Influence Positive Change – Projects should describe and quantify outcomes.