Grants

Wisconsin Projects Receive USDA Forest Service Wood Innovation Grants

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Scott Lyon, Wisconsin DNR Forest Products Team Leader

Wisconsin’s forest products industry will benefit from new federal investments through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s 2026 Wood Innovations Grant program. The Forest Service recently announced $105.5 million in grants nationwide to support wood products manufacturing, expand markets for wood and wood energy, strengthen rural economies and encourage innovative uses of America’s forest resources.

The Wood Innovations Program is designed to stimulate and expand markets for wood products and wood energy while supporting sustainable forest management. National priorities include mass timber, renewable wood energy, innovative wood products and technologies that can help reduce hazardous fuels and the costs of forest management.

Wisconsin recipients of the 2026 Wood Innovations awards include:

  • Cooper & Sons Timber, LLC, Blue River, Wisconsin: Upgrade sawmill processing technologies to increase production capacity in Wisconsin. $194,699
  • Timber Professionals Cooperative Enterprises, Tilleda, Wisconsin: Upgrade a chip mill to increase market access for low-value and small diameter timber to replace markets lost by papermill closures. $1,000,000
  • Bookends North, LLC, Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Develop tools to increase domestic mass timber market adoption in student housing and provide markets for small-diameter timber. $157,875

The Great Lakes Mass Timber Collaborative also received funding through a partnership with Dovetail Partners in Minnesota. The collaborative works across the Great Lakes region to advance mass timber markets, manufacturing and building opportunities, helping strengthen the regional forest products economy.

Wisconsin is represented in this regional effort by DNR forest products specialist Alex Anderson, who serves as a member of the Great Lakes Mass Timber Collaborative. His participation provides a connection between Wisconsin’s forest products industry and regional efforts to expand mass timber markets, share expertise and identify opportunities for collaboration.

Together, these investments and partnerships demonstrate the importance of collaboration at the state, regional and federal levels to strengthen wood markets, support forest products businesses and increase the utilization of Wisconsin’s forest resources.

The Wisconsin DNR’s Forest Products Services team played a supporting role in the grant process. Drawing on the team’s extensive experience in forest products utilization, markets and manufacturing, DNR staff assisted Wisconsin applicants with proposal reviews and provided letters of support for their applications.

Following the announcement of the Wisconsin awards, the DNR Forest Products Services team will continue to support the recipients by providing technical assistance related to mill upgrades and other project improvements. This assistance will help Wisconsin businesses successfully implement their projects and maximize the benefits of these federal investments.

Through these efforts, the DNR is helping connect federal investment with Wisconsin’s forest products industry and ensuring that projects are supported by technical expertise in wood utilization, markets and manufacturing.

This collaboration between the US Forest Service and the DNR helps connect federal investments with local knowledge and technical expertise. The resulting projects have the potential to strengthen Wisconsin’s forest products infrastructure, improve the utilization of Wisconsin-grown wood and create new opportunities for the state’s forest economy.

The 2026 awards demonstrate the continued potential for innovation across Wisconsin’s forest products sector. By connecting forest resources with new products, technologies and markets, these projects can help strengthen the state’s forest products economy while contributing to healthy and sustainably managed forests.

If you have a potential future project idea, please feel free to connect with the Wisconsin DNR. For more information and the complete list of 2026 Wood Innovations recipients, visit the USDA Forest Service Wood Innovations Program.

2027 DNR Urban Forestry Grant Applications Due Oct. 1.

Posted on by janness
newly planted tree on terrace

Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR

Cities, villages, towns, counties, tribes and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in or conducting their project in Wisconsin are encouraged to apply for a regular or startup 2027 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Urban Forestry Grant.

The grants range from $1,000 to $25,000, and grant recipients must match each grant dollar for dollar. A startup grant of up to $5,000 is available for communities that want to start or restart a community forestry program. Grants are awarded to projects that align with state and national goals for increasing the urban forest canopy and the benefits it provides. These grants do not subsidize routine forestry activities. Continue reading “2027 DNR Urban Forestry Grant Applications Due Oct. 1.” →

USDA Forest Service Requests Proposals for Wood Innovations Grants

Posted on by akabelowsky
A stack of logs

A stack of logs guards an old conifer seed orchard near Lake Tomahawk in the Town of Hazelhurst in 2024. / Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR

By United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service today announced up to $95 million in competitive grant funding through its Wood Innovations program for projects that advance innovative wood uses, expand wood-based construction, and grow U.S. wood energy markets and forest product processing capacity.

Continue reading “USDA Forest Service Requests Proposals for Wood Innovations Grants” →

WMA-PFGP Grant Application Deadline Extended

Posted on by akabelowsky
Volunteers working to remove invasive plants from a riverside forested area.

Volunteers at a garlic mustard-pulling event on the Montreal River in Iron County, part of a control project planned by a previous WMA-PFGP recipient. / Photo Credit: Ramona Shackleford, Northwoods Cooperative Weed Management Area

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Outreach and Communications
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

The deadline has been extended for eligible Weed Management Groups (WMGs) to apply for grants from the Weed Management Area-Private Forest Grant Program (WMA-PFGP).

The deadline has been pushed back to April 13, giving WMG administrators almost two additional weeks to apply for financial help as they plan to address invasive forest plants in 2026.

The WMA-PFGP helps eligible groups both by dealing directly with the invasives and by providing education, information and outreach to others. The grants are meant as reimbursements that cover up to 75 percent of eligible costs, with a 25 percent match required.

 

Continue reading “WMA-PFGP Grant Application Deadline Extended” →

NRCS Funding Available For MFL Landowners

Posted on by Kirsten Held
NRCS funding availalbe

Funding for plan implementation is available through NRCS.

Need funding for the practices in your plan? The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) would like to help. A historic amount of funding will be made available to woodland owners through landowner assistance programs implemented by the NRCS and made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act.  See more information here.

What does this mean for you?

This funding is a rare opportunity for MFL landowners. NRCS has identified that “shovel-ready projects identified in a Forest Management Plan are more likely to secure funding.” MFL plans include a schedule of mandatory and recommended practices that may be eligible for NRCS funding.

How to get started?

Contact your local USDA Service Center to learn how NRCS can help fund practices on your MFL property and help you accomplish your forest management objectives. Click the link below for your local USDA Service Center and NRCS contact. Be sure to contact the service center for the county where your property is located, and please be patient with the NRCS staff. The increased funding is driving increased demand at NRCS field offices.

Find your local USDA Service Center.

USDA Forest Service Accepting Grant Applications For Wood Innovations Projects, Community Wood Energy Facilities

Posted on by Kirsten Held

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service announced it will offer $41 million through the 2023 Wood Innovations Grant and 2023 Community Wood Grant programs to spark innovation and create new markets for wood products and renewable wood energy.

These grants expand wood products use and strengthen emerging wood energy markets, supporting sustainable forest management – particularly in areas of high wildfire risk.

The application deadline for both grant programs is Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 5 p.m. local time. Applications may be submitted via email to the Forest Service Regional Wood Innovations coordinator listed in the application instructions. Continue reading “USDA Forest Service Accepting Grant Applications For Wood Innovations Projects, Community Wood Energy Facilities” →

Grant Opportunities and Ideas

Posted on by kirsten.biefeld

As we get through a chilly February, here are a few different grant opportunities and ideas to help you think ahead to a (hopefully) warmer spring! 

  1. Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Nonprofit Conservation Organization funding

Grant applications are due Wednesday, March 1, 2023. The DNR will consider all complete applications received by this date. Tentative dates for round two and three funding are August 1 and November 1.

Nonprofit conservation organizations (NCOs) may apply for funding from eight Stewardship grant subprograms to help fund the acquisition of land and conservation easements. Continue reading “Grant Opportunities and Ideas” →