USDA Announces Forest Health Resilience Projects to Improve Timber Production

(Washington, D.C., September 3, 2025) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing more than $8 million for five new projects to reduce wildfire risk, protect water quality, and improve forest health across the nation. This expands President Trump's mission to improve the lives of American families, support rural communities, and expand domestic timber production.

Today's announcement builds on Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins' commitment to wildfire preparedness and President Donald J. Trump's vision to safeguard American families. USDA and its agencies are working together to take action to protect people, communities, and the natural resources on which this country depends.

The Joint Chiefs' Landscape Restoration Partnership Program is a collaborative effort between USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Forest Service to work across public-private boundaries and at a landscape scale. The $8 million investment in new projects is in addition to $32 million for 24 existing three-year-long Joint Chiefs' projects.

The five new projects are:

• Alabama - National Forest in Alabama "Alabama Chattahoochee Fall Line Restoring Longleaf"
• Colorado and Wyoming - Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest "Headwaters of the Colorado"
• Montana - Lolo National Forest "Blackfoot River Valley Landscape Mosaic"
• North Carolina - National Forests in North Carolina "Uwharries to Sandhills, Phase 2"
• Oregon - Mt. Hood National Forest "Hood River Wildfire and Watershed Resilience"

"Wildfires have no boundaries, and neither should our prevention work," said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. "We need everyone at the table to deliver the kind of active management that will return our forests to health and productivity. Joint Chiefs' puts local leaders in the driver's seat, enabling cross-boundary work based on shared priorities with states, partners, industry, and forest landowners. It's a win-win."

"With the Joint Chiefs' Landscape Restoration Partnership, NRCS is implementing our Farmer-First mission with our nation's foresters," said NRCS Chief Aubrey J.D. Bettencourt. "Providing technical and financial assistance to private forest landowners is key to supporting locally led conservation, especially in the wildland-urban interface. This allows us to address multiple challenges in one project, such as reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, protecting clean water, and improving wildlife habitat."

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