International Forestry Programs

To extend Forest Service efforts to improve forest policies and practices internationally, address climate change, conserve and protect critical global forest environments and resources, and improve the lives of forest-dependent peoples by awarding g

U.S. Forest Service Office of International Programs & Trade (USFS/IPT) funded grants, cooperative agreements, joint venture agreements and other federal financial assistance instruments in three main categories: Trade/Illegal Logging/Lacey Act Enforcement, Invasive Species and Migratory Species. Through its Trade program, USFS/IPT promoted global timber legality and enforcement of the Lacey Act, working to level the playing field for the American forest products industry. Activities included the detection and interception of illegal and fraudulent timber products at U.S. ports and borders to protect U.S. wood products industry competitiveness and to enforce tariff compliance. Through its Invasive Species program, USFS/IPT worked to protect U.S. forests, grasslands, and agricultural lands by preventing invasive species from entering the U.S. and mitigating outbreaks and new infestations. These efforts included identifying and testing biocontrols for highly invasive and damaging species and building pre-invasion knowledge to facilitate rapid response to new threats. In support of the USFS mandate to protect the migratory species within the 193 million acres of multiuse national forests and grasslands it manages, USFS/IPT worked to conserve U.S. migratory species habitat to prevent the listing of species as being at conservation risk, preserving access and multi-use of private and public lands. USFS/IPT partnered across the migratory range to improve species survival and chances of returning to U.S. forests and grasslands in healthy numbers.

Potential beneficiaries include host-country forest management agencies, non-profit organizations, forest landowners in the target countries, forest-dependent communities and peoples in the targeted countries, and U.S. landowners and organizations involved in or concerned with invasive species mitigation, migratory species conservation, legal trade in forest products, and the impact of climate change on forests.

Grants and cooperative agreements are used to carry out, supplement and complement Forest Service international activities in a wide range of fields, including but not limited to forest policies and regulations, forest products trade, forest management practices, wildlife management, watershed management, recreation and tourism, fire management, forest insect and disease prevention and response, invasive species preventions and response, disaster response and mitigation, landscape planning, forest product development and utilization, climate change adaptation and mitigation, forest economics, and training and institutional strengthening. Grants and cooperative agreements will be limited to five years.

Drug-free workplace that don't allow human trafficking, no texting while driving, and no drinking and driving.

Up to 5 years.

Criteria are established on a program-by-program basis and approved based on the negotiated objectives to be achieved at international, national, regional and local levels.

Proposals will be evaluated by the Forest Service Office of International Programs, in consultation with the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, where relevant, for purposes of ensuring compliance with U.S. foreign policy and objectives. Proposed activities will be assessed for their ability to improve forest management and the welfare of forest-dependent peoples in the targeted country or countries, as well as their ability to enhance or complement existing or planned Forest Service programs and activities.

120 days.

Requests for continued support will be considered as equal in importance and in competition with pending proposals. Applications submitted for continued support should be identical to a new proposal along with a detailed summary of progress to date. Applications for continued support must be received no later than 3 months prior to the expiration of the existing grant or agreement.