Forestry stands as the often-unrecognized cornerstone of our nation’s environmental health and resilience.
The SFLR Network Landowner Forestry Fund—a $1 million resource—is here to empower African American and underserved landowners with the tools, support, and funding they need to make transformative changes on their land.
As a result, the fund aspires to generate wealth for small forest owners, enhance forest retention, and protect water sources and wildlife habitat throughout the Southeast–all while empowering landowners to make timely and effective decisions about the forests in their care.
The Fund’s Purpose
Forest Resilience: Support landowners in implementing sustainable practices that enhance forest health and contribute to ecosystem resilience.
Access to Federal Programs: Help landowners overcome barriers to USDA cost-share programs, giving them the means to expand and enhance their land.
Community Strength: Bolster capacity at local organizations, ensuring landowners have on-the-ground support for making impactful decisions.
What This Fund Covers
This fund is designed to break down barriers to sustainable forest management, supporting landowners in ways that were previously out of reach. Available funds exist to supplement landowner, government, and private funding sources for investment in:
Sustainable forestry practices
Basic activities like the creation of forest management plans, boundary marking and surveys, fire line installation, wildlife habitat maintenance, and timber stand improvement
Support for developing landowner clusters and other strategies to create forest management efficiencies and market access
Support for individual and group forest certification strategies, (i.e. Tree Farm certifications)
Support of strategies to connect landowners to markets
Support for product identification and market development
Support for non-timber forest product revenue stream development
Critical legal support for clearing title in situations where each of the following three provisions are simultaneously true:
- Unclear title is inhibiting forestry practices by landowners who are firmly committed to active forestry upon obtaining clear title,
- All heirs are identified and are in agreement to move forward with forestry, and
- There is a clear path to clear title within 18 months.
Critical legal support to prepare landowners for the title clearing process, i.e. title searches, surveys, appraisals, etc.
Other issues critical to moving participating landowners toward forestry success in the time period of the project and beyond.
Who Can Apply
- Landowners currently enrolled in an SFLR Network Site program
- Landowners who are willing and able to enroll in an SFLR Network Site program
- SFLR Network Site on the landowner’s behalf
Fund Eligibility
Projects must meet a minimum of $10,000. Projects costing less than $10,000 may be clustered with other applications until a $10,000 minimum is reached.
Applications for funding can be for individual landowner projects or as a joint application for multiple landowner projects
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through April 15, 2025.
Application Criteria
Funds must be used for activities related directly to or that will facilitate forestry and forest management and funded projects must critically advance the capacity or open new opportunities for landowners officially participating in the projects.
Projects that will overcome immediate barriers to land owner success in the project period will be given priority.
Funds are only available for purposes not covered by other project budgets and not reasonably fundable by other available government or private sources.
Funded projects must promote financial accountability and long-term financial independence of landowners and not dependence on charitable or government funding. In general, this means that landowners should be contributing a significant share of the costs of direct investment into private forestland. Factors determining that share include income status, other costs related to forest improvement being paid by landowner, recent income from timber sales, and potential returns on the investment. The minimum landowner cost share is 10% of the total project.
Projects that support implementation of nature-based climate solutions and Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) related projects (e.g. activities related to long leaf pine, reforestation, bolstering nursery supply, workshops to support wildlife enhancement, clustering of RCPP recipients, preparation for the Conservation Stewardship Program, etc.) will be given priority.
Funds cannot be used for paying back taxes on properties, purchasing equipment, or for building permanent structures.
Support for non-timber forest product revenue stream development
Additional Information
No single landowner may receive more than $15,000 in total benefit from the Forestry Fund per year.
Payments of grants will be to the SFLR Network Sites, to be deployed on behalf of the landowner(s).
Our anticipated turnaround time for approved applications is three weeks.
Only actual costs of projects will be funded.
Detailed landowner information (landowner names, forestry activities to be funded, funding requested) will be required for each landowner expected to benefit from the advance funding pool.
The status of all Landowner Forestry Fund projects must be reported to both SFLR Network and to the U.S. Endowment of Forestry & Communities
This fund has been made possible by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities and the JPB Foundation.
The application cannot be saved once started, so it is best to gather all necessary information prior to submitting. You can download a PDF version of the application here for an overview of what the application requirements are.
Once information is gathered, applications must be submitted via our online application portal