Your Daily Dose of Climate Hope: December 20, 2024
The Forest Legacy Program!
The Forest Service just announced over $265 million in grant funding to preserve nearly 335,000 acres of privately held forestlands— more than seven times the land area of Washington D.C! — thanks to the IRA-funded Forest Legacy Program.
Tell Congress to sustain the Forest Legacy Program!
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Reasons For Hope
In October 2024, the USDA Forest Service announced over $265 million in grant funding to preserve privately held forestlands through the Forest Legacy Program, partnering with 17 states to fund 21 projects covering nearly 335,000 acres of forest — more than seven times the land area of Washington D.C! The newly conserved forests include the Buffalo Creek Project in North Carolina, the Sunfish Creek Project in Ohio, the Stimson Timberland Legacy Project in Washington State, and more.
Across all of 2024, the Forest Service has invested nearly $420 million to conserve over 500,000 acres of American forest thanks to the Forest Legacy Program, which recently got a funding boost from the Inflation Reduction Act.
"Forests provide innumerable benefits to people and communities, and for nearly 35 years the Forest Legacy Program has allowed us to support States and landowners in their efforts to conserve important forestlands.
Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, we are protecting parcels we never thought we’d have the resources to secure and even more acres of vital forestlands so that future generations of Americans will be able to enjoy all the irreplaceable benefits they provide."
— Forest Service Chief Randy Moore
As with other Inflation Reduction Act-funded projects, it’s up to Congress to determine whether vital funding like this will be sustained in upcoming budget cycles. And in an uncertain political climate, enlisting vocal Congressional champions to defend specific conservation projects is likely to be increasingly important. Your voice can help show that American voters care about forest conservation.