U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Dec. 23 unveiled a new program to support American wood processing facilities. USDA Rural Development is partnering with USDA Forest Service to provide funding through the new Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program (TPEP). The program will support the processing and utilization of wood products from National Forest System lands to improve forest health and reduce the risk posed by wildfires, insects, and disease and the detrimental impacts they have on communities and critical infrastructure.

This program is funded through President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It also reflects the goals of the President’s Investing in America agenda to rebuild the economy from the bottom up and middle out, and to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure.

“Rural America is the backbone of our country, providing the everyday essentials we all depend on,” Secretary Vilsack said. “Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA Rural Development is partnering with the Forest Service to support timber industry innovations that improve forest health and reduce wildfire threats while creating good-paying jobs for people in rural, forest-dependent communities.”

Through TPEP, USDA Rural Development and the Forest Service will make $220 million available in loan guarantees for borrowers to establish, reopen, retrofit, expand, or improve wood processing facilities, sawmills and paper mills, that use trees harvested from federal or Tribal lands. The program is designed to manage up to 20 million acres of national forests managed by USDA Forest Service and complement the Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy.

USDA Rural Development will begin accepting TPEP applications on December 26, 2024, with a maximum loan amount of $25 million. USDA encourages applicants to use the TPEP Dashboard to find areas the Forest Service has identified as high or very high priority areas to address the risk of wildfires and insect infestations or disease, which have caused or have the potential to cause significant damage.

Source: biomassmagazine.com