Alabama Forestry Commission

Alabama Forestry Commission, a U.S. state government entity headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, acts as a prime recipient of federal grants for forest management, wildfire mitigation, invasive species control, and forest conservation across Alabama's non-federal lands. The Commission is a child entity of the Alabama Department of Public Health and operates exclusively as a grant recipient rather than a federal contractor; it does not hold or compete for federal contracts or contract vehicles.

The Commission's federal grant footprint centers on the Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Region 8 (Southern Region), which funds the vast majority of recent awards. The source lists 78 awards from Forest Service R8-Southern Region, 64 awards from the broader Forest Service umbrella, and six awards from the Forest Service Research Service Southern Research Station. The Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters Financial Assistance Awards program accounts for 133 sub-awards flowing to the Commission from the Alabama Emergency Management Agency as prime grantee, primarily for roads and bridges reconstruction (February 2022). The Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Service placed 17 awards. Combined potential value across all 305 awards in the source is modest relative to obligated dollars—the Commission has drawn $202.9 million in actual federal funding across its footprint.

The Commission's concrete capability work spans five primary federal grant programs, each with multi-year project periods running through 2028 or later. Under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance program (CFDA 10.664), the Commission receives the largest dollar volumes for on-the-ground forest management services: a $7.057 million award (June 2024) for forested watershed restoration, a $4.49 million award (September 2025) for forest stewardship and community forestry, a $4.007 million award (July 2024) for tree seedling production and landscape restoration, and a $3.91 million award (July 2022) for sustainable forest management and genetically improved seedling distribution. Under the Forest Health Protection program (CFDA 10.680), the Commission delivers technical and financial assistance to private and state forest landowners to prevent and control southern pine beetle infestations—recipients include a $600,000 award (June 2026) and a $365,000 award (August 2025) for stand management recommendations, cost-share programs, ground surveying, and suppression support. Under the State & Private Forestry Cooperative Fire Assistance program (CFDA 10.698), the Commission implements wildfire prevention, suppression equipment procurement, hazardous fuels reduction, prescribed burning, and firefighter training across five separate project grants totaling approximately $530,000 to $900,000 annually. The Commission also administers the Forest Legacy Program (CFDA 10.676), a conservation easement and land acquisition initiative, with a $26 million Inflation Reduction Act award (December 2024), a $9.5 million congressionally directed award (August 2025) for the Dugdown Mountain Corridor and Weogufka projects, a $5 million award (August 2024) for the Dugdown Mountain Corridor Stateline project, and a $1.606 million Inflation Reduction Act award (September 2024) for Weogufka State Forest acquisition. The Commission also holds awards under the Forest Stewardship Program (CFDA 10.678) for emergency forest restoration following federally declared disasters, the State & Private Forestry Hazardous Fuel Reduction Program (CFDA 10.697), the Inflation Reduction Act Landscape Scale Restoration program (CFDA 10.731) for underserved landowner outreach and carbon market engagement, and the Inflation Reduction Act Urban & Community Forestry program (CFDA 10.727).

Activity peaked in 2022 with 28 awards, declined to ten in 2023, recovered to 15 in 2024, then softened to 11 in 2025 and three through July 2026. Only two awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, limiting near-term recompete exposure. The Commission also receives sub-awards from the Alabama Emergency Management Agency under FEMA disaster-recovery programs and serves as a sub-recipient under Forest Service awards managed by parent prime grantees. As a state forestry agency, the Commission does not compete under set-aside categories and operates outside the federal contracting ecosystem; its federal presence is exclusively grant-funded, with all funding flowing from USDA Forest Service programs and related federal agencies supporting state-level forest management and conservation work.