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Collaborative Forest Restoration
- Cooperative Forestry Assistance
- Rural Development
- Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants
- Resource Conservation and Development
- Economic Development_Technical Assistance
- Economic Adjustment Assistance
- Community Economic Adjustment Assistance for Establishment, Expansion, Realignment, or Closure of a Military Installation
Examples of Funded Projects
The following activities were among those funded in fiscal year 2004: (1) The project will remove small diameter trees, reduce fuel loads and other flammable materials on 200 acres of Forest Service land that abuts private land north of Shady Brook and around campgrounds on the west end of Taos.
Emphasis will be on eliminating crowded and non-native plant and tree species by removing trees less than 12 inches in diameter.
Healthy old and large trees and snags in both conifer and aspen stands will be preserved.
Free firewood will be distributed to local residents and posts and poles less than 12 inches in diameter will be provided to recipients with permits.
Local community members will be hired for thinning projects.
The project proponents estimate that 10-12 jobs will be created for the thinning work, and at least eight people will be trained in forest practices.
(2) The project will gather and review information about the Santa Domingo Pueblo Bosque (riparian) area and upland resources to identify information gaps; establish methodologies for fuel loading inventories to establish monitoring protocols; conduct baseline surveys of vegetation; explore the feasibility of opening a tribal wood-yard for small diameter timber; involve the community in the development of the project; develop a comprehensive fuels management strategy; and conduct a pilot restoration treatment on 50 acres of Tribal Bosque and woodland.
The project includes a summer education and work program for Santo Domingo youth on the restoration protection of the Rio Grande floodplain protection.
(3) The project will conduct fuels reduction and forest restoration treatments to reduce hazardous fuels, improve habitat, reduce non-native species and improve watershed conditions on 225 acres of Ponderosa Pine, mixed conifer, and pinyon-juniper forest on Tribal, BLM and NM State Lands near the communities of Candy Kitchen and Fort Wingate.
Logs over 9 will be milled, graded, and dried to sell to the Zuni Furniture company and others.
Lower grade material will be dried and sold to the community for construction.
Logs too small for milling will be made into posts and vigas with traditional Zuni carvings for local and regional markets.
The grantees will also study the feasibility of biomass heat and/or power applications for the remaining materials and milling waste.
High school students will collect data for multi-party monitoring and assessment reports.
(4) This project will chip trees resulting from forest restoration and Wildland Urban Interface fuels reduction projects on the Gila National Forest to provide the Fort Bayard Medical Center with biomass for a new biomass fired boiler system.
Gila WoodNet will purchase and install chip handling and processing equipment to be used in screening and re-chipping; purchase and install chip storage bins and equipment to deliver chips; purchase a truck for chip transport; purchase and install scales and moisture monitoring equipment for determining BTU content and value; install transfer, storage, and re-chipping facilities to receive and process biomass; and provide monitoring and system evaluation assistance to other biomass heating projects in the state.
The project will create up to five permanent year-round jobs and support up to twenty other forest and wood product related jobs.
(5) This project will develop and manufacture high value wood products using logs removed from forest restoration and Wildland Urban Interface fuels reduction projects on National Forest lands in Catron County.
The Forestry Association will: purchase, fabricate, and install milling equipment and train local operators to manufacture products made from small diameter trees; participate in collaborative processes that incorporate forest restoration principles and work with business enterprises; mentor young people through Youth Conservation Programs; and design and coordinate community-based multi-party forest restoration monitoring efforts.
(6) This project will develop maps, models and assessments of current, reference, and alternative future forest conditions and fire behavior in the Sheep Basin and Negrito Watershed areas and use a collaborative process to develop science-based prescriptions for forest restoration.
Treatments will restore the size and age class distribution and spatial pattern of trees to their historic range and variability on approximately 456 acres of the Gila National Forest.
The mechanical treatments will be followed by broadcast burns to reintroduce fire when it is ecologically appropriate and safe to do so.
The grantee and their partners will develop a model of science-based adaptive management practices through multi-part monitoring and assessment of the ecological and socio-economic effects of the project.
(7) The project will conduct forest restoration and fuels reduction treatments on approximately 249 acres of tribal and municipal land.
The non-federal match includes the treatment of 267 acres of adjoining tribal land.
The project acres adjoin other on-going forest restoration projects on Forest Service land (153 acres) and private land (99 acres).
The harvested material will be used by local businesses to produce wood shavings for animal bedding, compost and mulch products.
Data for a multi-party assessment of the ecological and socio-economic effects of the project will be collected with assistance from the Mescalero Apache School and Youth Conservation Corps.
(8) The Santa Fe County Fire Department will thin trees to reduce fire risk and restore forest health on 43 square miles of high hazard County land in the Wildland Urban Interface where people have built homes and live in forested areas adjacent to County lands.
The County will use a collaborative process to identify and prioritize areas to be treated, develop treatment methods, solicit proposals from local contractors, measure and assess treatment processes, implement a media campaign, analyze data, and train participants.
Established in 1862, the Department of Agriculture serves all Americans through anti-hunger efforts, stewardship of nearly 200 million acres of national forest and rangelands, and through product safety and conservation efforts. The USDA opens markets for American farmers and ranchers and provides food for needy people around the world.
These are the Gila, Lincoln, Cibola, Santa Fe, and Carson National Forests.
Program Accomplishments
The Collaborative Forest Restoration Program (CFRP) Technical Advisory Panel has met four times to provide the USDA Forest Service Southwestern Regional Forester with consensus recommendations regarding which project proposals submitted for funding under the CFRP best met the objectives of the program. From 2001 to 2004 the Panel reviewed 149 grant proposals and developed consensus recommendations to fund 62 of them. The Panel adopted bylaws to guide their work. CFRP grantees and their partners met in 2003, 2004 and 2005 at the CFRP Annual Workshop to discuss projects implemented under the program. The 2006 Annual Workshop for grantees, their partners, and other interested stakeholders will be held in Albuquerque or Santa Fe in January 2006. CFRP grants support a wide variety of forest and watershed restoration, small diameter utilization, training, and multi-party monitoring and assessment projects in New Mexico. These projects are effectively engaging board and diverse interest groups in collaborative efforts to restore New Mexico's public forestlands.
Uses and Use Restrictions
Funding may be allocated for such things as technical assistance, training and education, equipment, marketing, and all costs associated with making these services available to tribal governments, educational institutions, landowners, and other interested public and private entities.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicant Eligibility
Local and tribal governments, educational institutions, landowners, conservation organizations, and other interested public and private entities.
Grant proponents must include a diverse and balanced group of stakeholders as well as appropriate Federal, Tribal, State, County, and Municipal government representatives in the design and implementation of the project.
The projects may be entirely on, or on any combination of, Federal, Tribal, State, County, or Municipal forestlands.
Processing facilities may be located on private land if they are associated with restoration activities on public land.
Beneficiary Eligibility
Local and tribal governments, educational institutions, landowners, conservation organizations, and other interested public and private entities. Grant proponents must include a diverse and balanced group of stakeholders as well as appropriate Federal, Tribal, State, County, and Municipal government representatives in the design and implementation of the project. The projects may be entirely on, or on any combination of, Federal, Tribal, State, County, or Municipal forestlands. Processing facilities may be located on private land if they are associated with restoration activities on public land.
Credentials/Documentation
None.
Aplication and Award Process
Preapplication Coordination
The State of New Mexico Local Government Division has determined that they do not choose to exercise their option under EO 12372 to conduct an intergovernmental review of Collaborative Forest Restoration Program grant proposals.
They have requested that the CFRP project proposals not be sent to their office.
This program is excluded from coverage under E.O.
12372.
Application Procedures
Applicants are required to submit form SF-424, SF-424(a), SF-424 (b), AD 1047, AD 1049, and other information described in the Request for Proposals. Proposals should be sent to: CFRP Program, Cooperative and International Forestry, USDA Forest Service, Room 329, 333 Broadway SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
Award Procedures
The Collaborative Forest Restoration Program Technical Advisory Panel evaluates the proposals and provides recommendations to the Forest Service on which ones best meet the purposes, objectives, and administrative requirements of the program. The panel also evaluates the effect of each proposal on long-term forest management. The Forest Service Southwestern Regional Forester selects proposals for final award. The Secretary of Agriculture chartered the Technical Advisory Panel as a Federal Advisory Committee for two years on June 12, 2001 (CFR 1042-138) under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Public Law 92-463). The Secretary reauthorized the Panel's charter on July 30, 2003 (CFR 1042-138).
Deadlines
Contact the regional office for specific application deadlines.
Authorization
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, Title VI-Community Forest Restoration, Public Law 106-393, Section 605, Establishment of Program.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Approximately 90 Days.
Appeals
None.
Renewals
Not applicable.
Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
The Federal share of an individual project cost shall not exceed 80 percent of the total cost. The 20-percent matching may be in the form of cash or in-kind contribution. Projects can not exceed a total annual cost of $150,000, with the Federal portion not exceeding $120,000 annually, nor exceed a total cost of $450,000 for the project, with the Federal portion of the total cost not exceeding $360,000 (Public Law 106-393, Title VI, Sec. 605(a) and (b)(8)).
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Projects may not exceed 4 years in length (Public Law 106-393, Title VI, SEC. 605(b)(7). Assistance will be provided by no more than monthly payments.
Post Assistance Requirements
Reports
Periodic and final performance reports are required.
Annual financial reports will also be required.
Grant recipients must attend an annual workshop with other stakeholders for the purpose of discussing the cooperative forest restoration program and projects implemented under Collaborative Forest Restoration Program.
Grant recipients may use project grant funds to pay for their travel and per diem expenses to attend the workshop.
Audits
In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations," nonfederal entities that receive financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.
Records
State and other generally accepted accounting systems can be used if control procedures allow for proper audit and reconciliation. All grantees must maintain adequate systems for collection and recording statistical data. Project records must be maintained for a period of three years after the project has ended.
Financial Information
Account Identification
12-1115-0-1-302.
Obigations
(Grants) FY 07 $4,100,700; FY 08 est not available; and FY 09 est not reported.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
$66,361.00 to $360,000.00.
Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature
The authorizing legislation (Public Law 106-393 Title VI), a list of the members of the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program Technical Advisory Panel, The Charter for the Technical Advisory Panel, The Technical Advisory Panel Recommendations, The Request for Proposals, Project Summaries for funded activities, and a List of Forest Service Contacts can be found on the website for the Southwestern Region of the Forest Service at www.fs.fed.us/r3/spf/cfrp.
Information Contacts
Regional or Local Office
Regional or Local Office: Refer to Appendix IV of the Catalog for addresses and telephone numbers of the Forest Service National Forests in New Mexico. These are the Gila, Lincoln, Cibola, Santa Fe, and Carson National Forests.
Headquarters Office
Telephone: (505) 842-3289, USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region, Cooperative and International Forestry staff, 333 Broadway S.E., Albuquerque, NM 87122.
Criteria for Selecting Proposals
Proposals will be evaluated to determine if they followed the administrative requirements of the program and the proposal format described in the Request for Proposals. The Collaborative Forest Restoration Program Technical Advisory Panel will evaluate grant proposals based on the purpose and eligibility requirements described in the Community Forest Restoration Act of 2000 (Section 3 and Section 5, Title VI, Public Law 106-393). The Panel will consider the proposed projects effect on long-term management and the capability of the proponents to accomplish the project. The Panel will also examine the degree to which proposed activities complement existing projects and programs and evaluate whether the project would reduce the danger of wildland fire in high-risk areas in New Mexico.
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