National Forest Foundation

National Forest Foundation, a tax-exempt nonprofit based in Missoula, Montana, acts as a recipient and administrator of federal grants supporting forest conservation, restoration, and stewardship projects across the National Forest System, with 93% of recent awards as prime recipient and 7% as sub-recipient across 23 distinct customer agencies.

NFF's federal footprint is dominated by cooperative agreements and project grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, which accounts for 79% of award count. The Forest Service Washington Office Acquisitions alone has issued 88 awards worth $2.3 million in combined potential value, anchoring NFF's primary customer relationship. Recent prime grants include a $19.258 million Project Grant under the Inflation Reduction Act Landscape Scale Restoration program (CFDA 10.731) awarded December 20, 2024, to support climate mitigation and forest resilience practices for non-industrial private forest landowners, with sub-awards to mobilize volunteers and provide job training through November 30, 2029; a $5.518 million Cooperative Agreement under the National Forest Foundation Matching Awards Program (CFDA 10.682) awarded June 3, 2026, distributing competitive subawards to approximately 16 to 22 organizations per cycle including nonprofits, conservation corps, state and local governments, and Native American tribes for on-the-ground forest restoration, wildlife habitat enhancement, invasive species management, and trail maintenance; and a $1.299 million Congressionally Directed Spending grant (CFDA 10.741) awarded July 23, 2026, to reduce wildfire risk through fuel treatments on up to 300 acres of private land in Colorado through July 14, 2031. NFF also holds a smaller contract footprint, including a $23,325 firm-fixed-price purchase order from USFS for forest management peer learning sessions with ultimate completion December 1, 2024, and prior BPA calls for regional roundtables facilitation.

NFF operates under three recurring blanket purchase agreements with the Forest Service: AG3187B160010 (39 task orders, $1.4 million combined potential value), AG3187B100004 (33 task orders, $597 thousand combined potential value), and AG3187B140015 (19 task orders, $822 thousand combined potential value). Work is performed nationwide across multiple Forest Service regions, with recent geographic concentration in the Rocky Mountain, Pacific Northwest, and Northern regions.

Beyond the Forest Service, NFF has received project grants from the Bureau of Reclamation's Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CFDA 15.554), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (a $3.8 million award for Resurrection Creek salmon habitat restoration in Alaska through April 30, 2027), the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Denali Commission, and the Environmental Protection Agency. As a sub-recipient, NFF has channeled subawards to state fish and wildlife agencies, conservation nonprofits including the United States Endowment for Forestry and Communities, and tribal entities for invasive species management, wildlife habitat improvement, and community-based environmental projects.

Activity has moderated in recent years — from seven awards in 2022 to ten in 2024, then six in 2025 and three in 2026 year-to-date — with ten awards reaching ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months, presenting recompete exposure. The combined potential value across all 163 awards in the source is $3 million, though obligated dollars total $172.5 million, reflecting the source's measurement of remaining potential liability rather than full award sizes. NFF's capability framing centers on matching federal and nonfederal funding, facilitating stakeholder engagement and peer learning, providing technical assistance on sustainable forestry and cross-boundary vegetation management, and administering subawards for forest health, community stewardship, and restoration work on and adjacent to National Forest System lands.