National Forest Foundation

National Forest Foundation, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization headquartered in Missoula, Montana, functions as a federal grant recipient and occasional federal contractor delivering forest conservation, restoration, and stewardship services to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and related federal agencies, with 93% of recent awards as a prime recipient and 7% as a sub-recipient.

NFF's federal footprint is concentrated in cooperative agreements and project grants administered under USDA Forest Service matching-awards and forest-health programs. The organization's primary role is to distribute federal matching funds to nonprofit organizations, conservation corps, state and local governments, and Native American tribes for on-the-ground conservation activities on or adjacent to National Forest System lands. Representative work includes a $5.52 million Cooperative Agreement (CFDA 10.682, National Forest Foundation) awarded June 3, 2026, extending through September 30, 2030, supporting the Matching Awards Program, which provides competitive subawards to approximately 16 to 22 organizations per award cycle for forest restoration, wildlife habitat enhancement, invasive species management, trail maintenance, and community engagement; a $19.258 million Project Grant (CFDA 10.731, Inflation Reduction Act Landscape Scale Restoration) awarded December 20, 2024, through November 30, 2029, enabling NFF to provide cost-sharing, technical assistance, and outreach to non-industrial private forest landowners participating in carbon offset and ecosystem services markets; a $3.8 million Cooperative Agreement (CFDA 15.682) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded May 1, 2023, through April 30, 2027, restoring salmon habitat in Resurrection Creek on the Kenai Peninsula by improving natural stream processes, reconnecting floodplains, and restoring vegetation across 70 acres; and a $6 million Cooperative Agreement (CFDA 10.682) awarded July 7, 2022, through July 7, 2027, supporting forest stewardship and restoration projects across multiple national forests through 16 nonprofit sub-awardees engaging youth and volunteers in trail maintenance, campsite cleanup, invasive species removal, and reforestation. NFF also holds a $150,000 Schools and Roads grant (CFDA 10.665, Title II) for McKinley Lake Cabin reconstruction in Alaska and a $300,000 Bureau of Reclamation Cooperative Watershed Management Program grant (CFDA 15.554) supporting the Headwaters of the Colorado Initiative across Wyoming and Colorado.

Customer concentration is overwhelming with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Washington Office Acquisitions accounting for 87 awards (79% of awards and 99% of combined potential value) at $2.3 million. Regional Forest Service offices (R1-Northern, R2-Rocky Mountain, R6-Pacific Northwest) and research stations account for the remainder. NFF works across 23 distinct federal agencies, with secondary partners including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, National Resources Conservation Service, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

NFF operates primarily through three Forest Service Blanket Purchase Agreements: AG3187B160010 (39 task orders, $1.4 million combined potential value), AG3187B100004 (33 task orders, $597 thousand), and AG3187B140015 (19 task orders, $822 thousand). The organization also holds smaller federal contracts as a prime contractor with the USFS for facilitation and stakeholder engagement services—a $23,325 purchase order for peer learning sessions (May 30, 2023, through December 1, 2024) and a $189,332 BPA call modification for regional roundtables (January 18, 2022, through November 30, 2022).

As a sub-recipient, NFF receives funding through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (monarch butterfly and pollinator habitat at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie), Philanthropy Northwest (Environmental Protection Agency Thriving Communities), United States Endowment for Forestry and Communities (biochar and fuels reduction integration), and state environmental and wildlife agencies (Arizona Department of Game and Fish mechanical vegetation treatment, Colorado Department of Natural Resources bear-conflict management, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources fisheries work). Award volume peaked in 2024 with 11 awards and has moderated to 5 in 2025 and 1 in 2026 year-to-date; 8 awards face recompete within the next twenty-four months. NFF's capability portfolio—grounded in its role as the nonprofit partner of the Forest Service—centers on matching-fund administration, stakeholder facilitation, cross-boundary collaboration, conservation corps workforce development, volunteer mobilization, technical assistance for forest health and restoration, and pass-through funding distribution to on-the-ground conservation implementers across the 193-million-acre National Forest and Grasslands system.