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NEWS RELEASE |
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| Date: Contact: |
May 16, 2007 |
(610) 557-4128 (304) 285-1596 (304) 487-1510 |
Release No. |
NA-05-01 ktackett@fs.fed.us dwanner@fs.fed.us smilauskas@fs.fed.us |
USDA Forest Service Awards $1 Million
to Enhance Hardwood Forests
PRINCETON, W.Va.— Today, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry Director Kathryn Maloney announced that the USDA Forest Service is awarding $1 million in grants to 17 competitively selected projects. The grants encourage innovation and applied research in hardwood forest products and their markets. The grants also promote economic competitiveness of the domestic wood products manufacturing industry located in the eastern United States.
"An important component of improving the health of hardwood forests is applied research to promote a greater variety of sustainable forest resources and related markets," said Maloney. "These projects will help advance the use of woody biomass for energy, and support the adoption of new forest products and their markets from our eastern hardwood forests."
Selections were based on a number of factors, including consideration of whether the project or grant recipient could:
- Maintain the economic competitiveness of hardwood industries.
- Bring information and technology to existing and emerging businesses involved in the development and manufacturing of wood products.
- Bring marketing and business-related skills to existing and emerging wood products businesses.
- Encourage the adoption of new technology to improve competitiveness and profitability.
- Provide support and key information to entrepreneurs and start-up businesses.
- Address global issues and assist communities and industries facing threats from invasive species, such as the emerald ash borer.
- Increase the use of woody biomass for domestic energy use.
The maximum grant amount is $100,000. Grantees are required to match federal funds, dollar-for-dollar. The selected projects provide matches in excess of this requirement, totaling $1.4 million, for a grand total of approximately $2.4 million to be invested in these endeavors. The 17 grant recipients include:
Architectural Woodwork Institute (Potomac Falls, Va.), $92,000
Auburn Enterprises, LLC (Greene, Maine), $100,000
College of Menominee Nation (Keshena, Wisc.), $22,469
Empire State Forest Products Association (Albany, N.Y.), $47,500
Forest Source Holding Company, LLC (Crandon, Wisc.), $53,000
Great Lakes Forest Alliance, Inc. (Madison, Wisc.), $44,625
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (Washington, D.C.), $100,000
Mississippi State University (Mississippi State, Miss.), $56,979
National Assoc. of Home Builders Research Center (Upper Marlboro, Md.), $76,000
National Association of State Foresters (Washington, D.C.), $36,000
Northeast Forests, LLC (Thendara, N.Y.), $30,000
Pennsylvania State University (University Park, Pa.), $21,379 and $52,018 (2 projects)
University of Minnesota (Duluth, Minn.), $44,804 and $95,479 (2 projects)
Virginia Tech. (Blacksburg, Va.), $79,161
Wood Innovations, LLC (Madison, Wisc.), $45,278
Nine projects will address increasing the economic competitiveness of the hardwood industry, with grant awards totaling $575,787. An additional three projects focus on biomass utilization, with grant awards totaling 136,500. Five grants pertain to urban wood utilization, education, and the emerald ash borer (EAB), with grant awards totaling $288,652. The two EAB projects focus on increased awareness of emerald ash borer and developing methods that would allow ash wood to be utilized in marketable products. The selected projects competed with many other worthy proposals. In all, projects considered sought $5.84 million in federal funds.
Funding is provided through the USDA 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. It provides state-of-the-art training, technology transfer, networking opportunities, applied research, and information. For more information, visit www.na.fs.fed.us/ea/werc/werc.shtm. The forests of the Northeast and Midwest are important to the Nation. The 20 states served by the Northeastern Area include 43% of the nation’s population and 25% of the nation’s forests, of which 93% are non-federally owned.