The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded a $19,983,378 Project Grant under the Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program (CFDA 66.616) to the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Yakima Valley Community Foundation. The 3-year grant, effective January 1, 2025, will fund a large-scale pilot project to address the challenges of wildfire and the built environment, with the goal of reducing air pollution. Key activities include:
- Piloting advanced forest management and wildfire prevention on 3,000 acres of ancestral Yakama forest
- Constructing and equipping a new Yakama mass timber manufacturing facility
- Prototyping a carbon-sequestering mass timber affordable housing unit and longhouse
- Implementing global-standard workforce development programs in green building technologies
- Tracking carbon emissions across all activities to evidence reductions in air pollution
- Engaging community organizations and members, including Tribal-led and Latino/Hispanic-led groups, throughout the project
The intended beneficiaries are disadvantaged communities within the Yakama Indian Reservation and surrounding area.
Generated 3/4/25, 7:15 AM