USDA to Grant $25 Million for Removing Wood From National Forests

Los Padres National Forest near Frazier Park, Calif., on May 7, 2015. (David McNew/Getty Images)

The federal government is encouraging local business to tap into a $25 million grant to remove fallen wood from national forests.

The goal of the federal grant, called the Hazardous Fuels Transportation Assistance Grant, is to reduce wildfire risk across the nation while supporting rural economies, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

“The timber and wood products industries help support healthy and sustainable forests,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in an Aug. 6 press release announcing the funding opportunity.

Specifically, the USDA is looking for local businesses or partners to remove woody material that can serve as fuel for wildfires. This woody material typically has little commercial value because, although it can be converted into useful products, the high transportation costs often outweigh its potential value.

“Without transportation assistance, these materials are often burned in place or not removed from the national forests, increasing the risk of insects, disease, and wildfires that threaten ecosystems, communities and critical infrastructure,” the USDA explained.

Last year, the same grant helped remove 59,000 tons of hazardous fuels from nine national forests. According to the USDA, those removed materials ended up in facilities to be turned into firewood, animal bedding, and wooden peeled poles.

The grant is open to for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, state and local governments, and tribal nations. Applications are due by Sept. 5, and recipients of the grant will be announced later this year.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, wildfires this year so far have burned 2.4 million acres nationwide.

In comparison, wildfires throughout last year burned approximately 2.7 million acres, the lowest amount recorded since 1998, which may be partly attributed to the extreme rainfall that improved drought conditions across western states, including California, Arizona, and Nevada. However, a catastrophic fire struck Hawaii’s Maui Island in August 2023, destroying the historic town of Lahaina and killing at least 100 people.

This August, government scientists are predicting above-average temperatures in the western and southeastern United States, while drought conditions persist in the northwest and south-central plains.

“Significant wildland fire potential for August is above normal across portions of the West, Southern Plains and Hawaii,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

As of Aug. 8, California’s largest wildfire this year has burned over 420,000 acres as it grows in very hot and dry summer weather. The inferno is more than a third contained after erupting July 24 near the Sacramento Valley city of Chico.

A man allegedly started the fire by pushing a burning car into a ravine.