U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities Receives $298,900 Grant

Photo credit: Nicholas A. Tonelli

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities receives $298,900 grant from Susquehanna River Basin Commission to support mine land reforestation in Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) has been awarded a $298,900 grant from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) to support the reforestation of 123.5 acres of reclaimed mine land on private property in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.

The project is one of 17 selected through SRBC’s 2025 Consumptive Use Mitigation Grant Program, which awarded more than $6.1 million to initiatives aimed at improving water availability, water quality, and drought resilience across the basin.

“This grant is more than a reforestation investment—it’s a vote of confidence in the power of forests and the essential role they play in supporting local ecologies and economies,” said Alicia Cramer, chief operating officer at the Endowment. “By restoring these lands, we’re not only improving watershed resilience, but we’re also investing in long-term solutions that benefit both people and the planet.”

To develop and execute the Clearfield County project, the Endowment is partnering with Bosland Growth, a reforestation carbon developer working across central Appalachia to restore legacy mine lands by transforming them into healthy, productive forests.

“Our mine land reforestation program, of which the Clearfield County project is a key part, will serve as a model for how philanthropy and private capital—particularly carbon markets—can work in tandem to drive large-scale land restoration across Appalachia,” said Todd Appel, President of Bosland Growth.

For more information about the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities and its initiatives, please visit www.usendowment.org.

About the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities: 
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities is a not-for-profit public charity collaborating 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.

About the Susquehanna River Basin Commission
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission is a federal/interstate government agency responsible for protecting and wisely managing the water resources within the 27,500 square-mile Susquehanna River Basin without regard to political boundaries. The Susquehanna rises and flows through New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland into the Chesapeake Bay. For more information on the Commission, visit srbc.gov.

Media Contact:
Aleta Rogers
U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
aleta@usendowment.org
(864) 233-7646