With help from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service will spend over $265 million to protect nearly 335,000 acres of important forestlands across the country.
One important project in this initiative is in Pike County, Ohio. Its goal is to bring more economic and environmental benefits to the area.
Out of the 21 projects in 17 states that got money, the Sunfish Creek Project in Pike County got $8.2 million to buy 3,125 acres of forestland, which will make the Pike State Forest next door bigger.
This project will improve a network of hiking trails across the country and the state, support the important forest industry, and protect local waterways. In the end, it will bring in about $2 million a year for the county.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stressed how important it is to protect private forests because they have many uses. He said, “This country and the communities that live in them depend on private forests for clean water, habitat, recreation, and jobs.” “This investment is very important if we want to keep the economic, social, and environmental benefits that these forests offer.”
Chief of the Forest Service Randy Moore agreed and pointed out that the Forest Legacy Program has been successful for a long time.
Moore said, “Over the past 35 years, this program has helped us help states and landowners protect important forests.” “Because of the Inflation Reduction Act, we can now protect parcels that we didn’t think we’d be able to.”
States, Tribes, local communities, and landowners can work together through the Forest Legacy Program to find and protect important private forests.
The Forest Service chooses the best funding proposals through a competitive process. This lets states carry out conservation efforts.
Other important projects include the Pee Dee Basin Initiative in South Carolina, which got $50 million to protect 61,340 acres of land, and the Stimson Timberland Legacy Project in Eastern Washington, which will spend $30 million to protect almost 88,000 acres of working forests.
The Forest Legacy Program has protected about 3.1 million acres of forestlands across the country since it began in 1990.
With help from the Inflation Reduction Act, one out of every six acres that the program protects was locked up this year alone.
This plan also fits with President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to make sure that 40% of the benefits of federal investments go to communities that are struggling.
The program directly helps these communities, which depend on forests for basic needs and fun activities by protecting forestlands.
