Montana news about the environment, natural resources, wildlife, climate change and more.

U.S. Forest Service gets $10 billion to fund forestry work

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U.S. National Forest Service Chief Randy Moore spoke in Missoula on Thursday and said $10 billion will soon help fund work in forests around the country.

Chief Moore spoke at the 7th annual workshop of the Montana Forest Collaboration Network addressing representatives from conservation groups, counties and lumber companies about forest conservation, recreation, and resource utilization.

Moore said that $10 billion had been allocated to the Forest Service through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. Moore also said that the Forest Service is working to make it easier to disburse grant funds to groups who will partner with the agency on the upcoming work.

“For so long, if you were our partner, you really wanted to be our partner because we didn’t really make it easy for you. So, those things that are required now are truly in statute. We’ve stripped all the other requirements out to make it easier to partner.” 

Moore said funds would go toward reforestation, wildfire management, and combating the effects of climate change, and should begin to be made available starting next year.

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John joined the Montana Public Radio team in August 2022. Born and raised in Helena, he graduated from the University of Montana’s School of Media Arts and created the Montana history podcast Land Grab. John can be contacted at john.hooks@umt.edu