Last Updated January 24, 2005
Forest Service Rural Development Program
Facilitating and fostering sustainable community development and linking community assistance and natural resource management focusing on healthy communities, appropriately diverse economies, and sustainable ecosystems
The Forest Service's Rural Development program provides technical and financial assistance for locally initiated and planned projects designed to stimulate improvements in the economic or social well-being of rural citizens through forest resources. Assistance is targeted to help strengthen, diversify, and expand local economies experiencing long-term or persistent economic problems.
Rural Development is a program component of Rural Community Assistance (RCA), a core Forest Service effort since 1990. RCA, which includes Rural Development and Economic Recovery, is a broad-based effort aimed at helping the Agency and rural communities to integrate natural resource management and rural community assistance. RCA emphasizes working with diverse partners while developing long-term sustainable solutions to problems and opportunities identified in local, community-based plans. Specifically, the agency carries out land management responsibilities which affect local communities. It has professional expertise needed by rural communities; and can provide seed money to catalyze local action and leverage other resources. Community-level efforts are accomplished with the majority of the coordination and technical assistance being provided by employees located on national forests working with thousands of partners nationwide and having direct interaction by state foresters and other appropriate agencies.
Project Examples
- The program helped Grovetown, TX, evaluate and create commercial uses for the formerly wasted end pieces of southern yellow pine boards from local mills. This enabled Chaia marimbas, formerly constructed only in Africa, to be produced as true replicas. The instruments create tones quite similar to the originals.
- The Woodcraft Network of Sedro Woolley, WA, was given assistance in organizing itself and leverage to several other sponsors to hold workshops, provide technical and business assistance to members, host or participate in retail and trade shows, and serve as a network coordinator for small woodworking firms.
- The program helped organize the Menominee Nation Tribal Enterprises (MTE), an award-winning forest-based business that thrives by harvesting what the forest has available at the right time to make products, rather than just what the current market is demanding. MTE uses a strategic planning process that enables people to take control of their lives and write their own plans, and it helps focus business activities on sustaining the forest resource over the long term.
Application and Financial Information
Assistance is available from the National
Forest Supervisor's Offices and field offices of
the Northeastern Area of the State and Private
Forestry branch of the Forest Service, and the
State Foresters' staffs.
Funding decisions are based on community and regional priorities and are made in consultation with other state and local agencies and organizations. Average amounts of grants range from $5,000 to $40,000.
Eligibility, Uses, and Restrictions
Communities, state agencies, nonprofits,
tribes, educational institutions, and other organizations
are eligible to apply for financial assistance.
Communities need not be dependent on
federal lands or forests to be eligible.
Although criteria for grants vary among states
and Forest Service regions, they typically involve
community capacity building, forest-based economic
development, and forest resource conservation-
based technology demonstration or application.
Contact
For contact information, visit the website:
www.fs.fed.us/cooperativeforestry/programs/eap/eap_coord.shtml
www.fs.fed.us/cooperativeforestry/programs/eap/index.shtml
