Dec. 23 (UPI) — In an effort to support American wood processing facilities and reduce the risk of forest wildfires on public lands, the USDA announced on Monday a new program that will make $220 million available in loan guarantees.
Those loan guarantees can be used by borrowers to “establish, reopen, retrofit, expand or improve” wood processing facilities that use trees harvested from federal or Tribal lands. Such facilities include sawmills and paper mills.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack praised the program for its ecological benefits but also for its economic ones, especially for middle-income American workers.
“Rural America is the backbone of our country, providing the everyday essentials we all depend on,” Vilsack said. “Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris administration, USDA Rural Development is partnering with the Forest Service to support timber industry innovations that improve forest health and reduce wildfire threats while creating good-paying jobs for people in rural, forest-dependent communities.”
Through the program, funded through Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the USDA Rural Development department and the Forest Service will make $220 million available in loan guarantees for borrowers.
According to a USDA statement released Monday, the program is designed to manage as much as 20 million acres of national forests overseen by the USDA’s Forest Service. It also complements the Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy.
According to the release, the USDA’s Rural Development will begin accepting TPEP applications on December 26, with a maximum loan amount of $25 million.
More information is here.
Authorities encouraged applicants to consider projects that will advance key priorities:
- Reducing climate pollution and increasing resilience to the effects of climate change through economic support to rural communities
- Ensuring all rural residents have equitable access to USDA Rural Development programs and benefits from Rural Development-funded projects
- Assisting rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure.
Applications must be submitted electronically using Grants.gov and will be accepted until funds are expended.