Cooperative Agreement Summary

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Region 5 – Pacific Southwest Region, awarded a $180,000 Cooperative Agreement to The Watershed Research and Training Center under the Wood Utilization Assistance program (CFDA 10.674) on January 5, 2026, with a completion date of August 31, 2028. The agreement supports state and federal efforts to increase the utilization of forest biomass removed during forest restoration and hazardous fuels reduction activities in California. The Watershed Center will provide technical expertise and services to raise awareness and accelerate the adoption of new or modified technologies for economically harvesting, transporting, and processing forest biomass, with the goal of expanding wood energy and wood products markets while supporting long-term forest management objectives.

As a nonprofit organization with extensive experience in natural resource management and forest health improvement, the Watershed Center brings relevant technical capacity and established relationships with stakeholders across California and the western United States. The organization's prior work under the Pacific Southwest Stewardship Blanket Purchase Agreement with the Forest Service and its history of managing forest-related cooperative agreements position it to effectively deliver services that address market barriers to forest biomass utilization and advance sustainable forest management practices aligned with hazardous fuels reduction initiatives.