Description
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Forest and Woodland Resource Management Program manages and conserves 58 million acres of forest and woodland in 12 western States and Alaska. These forests provide a range of ecosystem services including wildlife habitat, hydrologic function, and sustainable harvest of forest products valued by society. A primary activity of the program is to maintain and improve the resilience of forest and woodland ecosystems to wildfire, insects, disease, and drought through density management using timber sales, Stewardship agreements, and Good Neighbor (GNA) agreements. BLM Colorado has an opportunity to work with partner organizations to assist and collaborate with a recipient to access additional resources outside of the federal government, which not only furthers the BLM mission, but also reduces BLM staffing costs and improves our responsiveness to the public. Funded projects will focus on high priority work such as activities that promote forest and woodland health, sustainable forest management, fire resiliency, infrastructure development for future sustainable timber harvest, biomass utilization, habitat conservation needs, and insect, disease and fire recovery. These activities could include, but are not limited to: planting trees, pre-commercial and commercial thinning, salvage/sanitation forest treatments, control of competing vegetation, fuels reduction, riparian or upland restoration, project development and layout, planning analysis and document preparation needed in concert with or to carry out Land Use Planning Decisions, Endangered Species Act or cultural clearances, data collection, and monitoring. Program Strategic Goals: - Implement science-based forest restoration projects to improve forest health and resilience to wildfires, insects, disease, and drought. - Sustainable harvest of forests and woodlands to produce a continuous supply of wood products and biomass for renewable energy. - Salvage dead and dying timber to reduce fuels, in balance with the need for wildlife habitat, watershed function, and soil stability, while supporting local economies. - Provide the public with commercial and personal use opportunities to harvest products such as firewood, Christmas trees, boughs, greenery, medicinal plants, fence posts, and pinyon pine nuts from forests and woodlands. - Expedite the NEPA processes to accelerate the removal of beetle-killed timber to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire and minimize risks to the recreating public. - Implement projects collaboratively with a Governor or any other appropriate executive official of an affect State, county official, or Indian Tribe under the Good Neighbor authority by implementing project under authorized restoration services, which means similar and complementary forest and watershed restoration services carried out on Federal land, non-Federal land, and land owned by an Indian tribe. For more information on how to apply, please visit www.grants.gov to download a full announcement, instructions, and application package.