NC to be home to new USDA forest project
On Sept. 3, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it would invest more than $8 million in five new projects, including one in North Carolina. These projects will improve forest health by reducing wildfire risk and improving water quality.
This is timely, as Steve Troxler, commissioner of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS), told lawmakers earlier this year that North Carolina is the No. 1 state in the nation at risk for wildfires. North Carolina has two primary wildfire seasons, one in the spring and one in the fall.
According to a press release from the USDA, the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership Program is a collaborative initiative between the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Forest Service designed to address conservation challenges across public and private lands at a landscape scale. This year, $8 million will support new projects, complementing the $32 million already invested in 24 ongoing, three-year Joint Chiefs’ projects.
“Wildfires have no boundaries, and neither should our prevention work,” Tom Schultz, forest service chief, said in a press release. “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.”
The five new projects include efforts across several states to restore and protect essential landscapes. The National Forest is launching the “Alabama Chattahoochee Fall Line Restoring Longleaf” project in Alabama. Colorado and Wyoming will see work in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest through the “Headwaters of the Colorado” initiative. Montana’s Lolo National Forest is beginning the “Blackfoot River Valley Landscape Mosaic” project, while North Carolina’s National Forests are moving forward with “Uwharries to Sandhills, Phase 2.” Finally, Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest will focus on “Hood River Wildfire and Watershed Resilience.”
The Uwharries to Sandhills Phase 2 project covers Moore, Randolph, Richmond, and Stanly counties in congressional districts 8 and 9. The project aims to reduce wildfire risks to communities and landowners by expanding the use of forestry best practices and strengthening the capacity of private landowners to conduct safe and effective prescribed burns.
On Uwharrie National Forest lands, roughly 18,000 acres will be restored and improved through prescribed fire and silvicultural treatments. These efforts will lower fuel loads, enhance public and private safety, and help protect communities from wildfire threats. In addition, the project’s forest management practices will boost downstream water yield in a critical watershed, helping secure water quality and quantity for residents and industries.
Prescribed burns have proven to be one of the most effective forms of wildfire management, and North Carolina is one of 11 Southern states with a burn manager certification program.
According to Margaret Young from the fiscal research division of the North Carolina General Assembly, the NC Forest Service receives $1 million in recurring funds from the state budget appropriated by the NCGA to fund the Prescribed Burn Cost Share Program. The program supports private forest owners in paying for prescribed burns as a form of forestry management. During FY24, 170 burns occurred on more than 8,000 acres; 77% were on 100 acres or less. Cost share reimbursement to landowners totaled $190,419.
“With the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership, NRCS is implementing our Farmer-First mission with our nation’s foresters,” said NRCS Chief Aubrey JD Bettencourt, in a press release. “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.”
North Carolina came into focus for wildfire prevention following the wildfires that ravaged the state earlier this year.
“NC to be home to new USDA forest project” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.
