Endowment CEO Carlton Owen congratulates University of Georgia Professor Dr. Scott Merkle on being voted the inaugural Forest Innovation Reviews (FIRz) idea “Most Likely to Make a Lasting Difference” as other FIRz presenters look on.

Inaugural Forest Innovation Reviews (FIRz) Event Featured a Broad Range of Ways to Shape a Brighter Future for Forests and Forest Products

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Greenville, SC

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE (September 25, 2019) The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (Endowment) is pleased to announce that Dr. Scott Merkle, Associate Dean for Research and Professor at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia (UGA), and his idea on how to restore threatened and endangered tree species was voted “Most Likely to Make a Lasting Difference” at the first annual Forest Innovation Reviews (FIRz). The Endowment awarded Dr. Merkle $10,000 to help advance his idea.

Held on September 18, the inaugural FIRz event featured ten presenters, discussing innovative approaches for solving some of today’s most significant natural resources challenges. Dr. Merkle posited how identifying “lingering,” or individual trees that appear to resist exotic pests and diseases could unlock inherent genetic resistance to save some of our most cherished tree species.  His proposal would engage citizen-scientists via the treesnap.org web application with scientists in locating potentially resistant trees Tree-breeders and tree-propagators would then be recruited to help confirm genetic resistance and produce trees for restoration plantings. “The combination of these groups working together could result in pest and pathogen-resistant trees for landowners and others to plant in a relatively short time,” said Merkle. “This approach involves no genetic engineering or even hybrid breeding. Instead, it uses the genes that our native trees already possess, but greatly accelerates the repopulation of the species using conventional breeding, plant propagation, and planting.”

“The competition was fierce, and the voting margin between all ten speakers close. I’m certainly glad it wasn’t up to me to choose the winner,” said Endowment President and CEO Carlton Owen. “FIRz is the nation’s first forum for surfacing the best new ideas for the health and future of our forests and the values and services that they provide for our planet.”

Nine additional presenters gave short, powerful talks at FIRz, including Jessica Fox, Electric Power Research Institute; Dr. David L. Kulhavy, Stephen F. Austin State University; Dr. Wayne Lei, Oregon Torrefaction; Kim Nelson, GranBio USA; Dr. Kimberly Ong, Vireo Advisors, LLC; Zack Parisa, SilviaTerra; Charlie Redden, Taylor Guitars; Ewell Smith, Carolina Loggers Association;  and Buck Vaughan, The Conservation Fund. Each presentation was professionally filmed and will be released to the general public before year-end.

The second annual FIRz event will be hosted in 2020 by Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. “We are thrilled to be hosting this incredible event. We’re looking forward to bringing leaders across all areas of the forest landscape to campus and discussing the world’s most pressing issues surrounding our forests and ecosystems. It will also serve as a great showcase for our new facilities which highlight how innovative products and approaches can lead to healthy forests, ecosystems, and communities,” said Anthony S. Davis, interim dean of the College of Forestry.

# # #

For more information, contact:
Carlton N. Owen
, President & CEO, 864-233-7646, carlton@runslikeclock.work
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) is a not-for-profit public charity working collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities – www.usendowment.org; www.usendowment.org/what-we-do/innovation/forest-innovation-reviews-firz

October 21, 2019 Preproposal Deadline

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Greenville, SC
National Forest Foundation, Missoula, MT

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE (September 16, 2019)

The Innovative Finance for National Forests program is a new partnership that provides grants to engage private investment capital to support the health of the National Forest System and meet the mission of the USDA Forest Service. It is funded by and administered by the USDA Forest Service (USFS) National Partnership Office (NPO), the National Forest Foundation (NFF), and U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (Endowment).  Full information is available at www.ifnfgrants.org.

“Our National Forests are a priceless resource for all citizens,” said Mary Mitsos, President and CEO at the NFF. “They provide rural jobs, wood, water, and other forest products, outstanding recreation opportunities, habitat for fish and wildlife—the list goes on and on. This new partnership and grant program will attract private sector funding that will help the Forest Service and their partners address pressing management challenges.”

National Forests face numerous and growing challenges that jeopardize the ecologic, economic, and social benefits these landscapes provide. The impacts of catastrophic wildfire, drought, flooding, and insect and disease disturbance are increasingly severe, exacerbated by rising temperatures and growing development pressures. The scale of need outpaces the capacity of appropriations and traditional philanthropy to fund necessary work. 

The goal of Innovative Finance for National Forests is to support innovative approaches that directprivate investment capital to improve the health of the National Forest System through projects that deliver environmental and social outcomes and financial returns,” said Carlton Owen, the Endowment’s President and CEO. “This is a truly new approach that will explore the potential to attract significant private capital to deploy for natural resource challenges.”

One example of the type of project that could be considered for funding through this program is the Forest Resilience Bond pioneered by Blue Forest Conservation. The Forest Resilience Bond is a financial vehicle that aggregates payments from downstream beneficiaries of forest restoration activities–water utilities and large-scale water consumers, hydroelectricity generators, and carbon emitters–to reimburse investors. This model, with its large-scale upfront investment, allows for more rapid implementation of restoration activities than would be possible through incremental funding approaches such as federal appropriations.

“The challenges facing our nation’s forests demand new partnerships and approaches,” said Jacqueline Emanuel, Director, USFS National Partnership Office. “Our collaboration with the NFF and the Endowment will explore the potential to attract new sources of funding for urgent needs on our National Forests and adjacent lands.”

Innovative Finance for National Forests is a planned $4 million, five-year, competitive grant program. Full information and an application form are available at www.ifnfgrants.org.

# # #

For more information contact:
Peter Stangel
,  404-915-2763, peter@runslikeclock.work
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) is a not-for-profit public charity working collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities – www.usendowment.org

Marcus Selig, 720–437-290, mselig@nationalforests.org

Founded by Congress in 1991, the National Forest Foundation (NFF) works to conserve, restore and enhance America’s 193-million-acre National Forest System. Through community-based strategies and public-private partnerships, the NFF enhances wildlife habitat, revitalizes wildfire-damaged landscapes, restores watersheds, and improves recreational resources for the benefit of all Americans. To learn more, visit us at http://www.nationalforests.org.

Tommie Herbert,
540-905-9531, Catherine.herbert@ussda.gov
The USDA Forest Service National Partnership Office (NPO) has a Conservation Finance Team. It is a small but growing team driven by a mission to unlock and expand financing for agency priorities, with a focus on the engagement of private capital through replicable partnership models that support resilient forests and forest-dependent communities.

This study focuses on economic conditions, changes in consumer preferences and changes in forest products preferences and demand for two time periods—2004‐2009 (the pre‐recession bubble and the Great Recession) and 2007‐2017 (the Great Recession and recovery)—in order to fully understand changes occurring in the market.

View/Download Report (PDF)

Start typing and press Enter to search