USDA FOREST SERVICE AWARDS NEARLY $3 MILLION TO ENHANCE HARDWOOD FOREST INDUSTRIES
Minnesota Receives Three Grants Totaling $310,000
DULUTH, Minn., August 3, 2005-Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced that the USDA Forest Service is awarding $2.9 million in 41 matching grants to help sustain hardwood forest products industries by encouraging the use of a wider variety of forest resources.
"These grants will help to maintain and improve the health of our hardwood forests," said Johanns. "Additionally, by making it more economical to harvest lower-value trees, we take a step toward wiser stewardship of our forests."
Selections were based on a number of factors, including consideration of whether a recipient could:
maintain the economic competitiveness of the hardwood industries;
bring information and technology to existing and emerging businesses involved in the development and manufacturing of wood products;
bring information and technology about marketing and business-related skills to existing and emerging businesses;
encourage the adoption of new technology to improve competitiveness and profitability;
provide support and key information to entrepreneurs and start-up businesses; and
address global issues, such as assisting communities and industries facing threats from invasive species, such as the Emerald Ash Borer.
Below are the 41 grant recipients. The maximum grant amount is $200,000. All recipients must match the federal portion by at least 50 percent. Together with the non-federal matches, about $6.3 million will be spent on this effort.
1. Adirondack North Country Association (Saranac Lake, N.Y.), $99,017
2. Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (Walton, Ohio), $100,000
3. Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers, Inc. (High Point, N.C.), $55,000
4. Charles Vail, Inc. (Lawrenceville, N.J.), $20,321
5. Dovetail Partners, Inc. (White Bear Lake, Minn.), $70,000
6. Forest Products Society (Madison, Wisc.), $34,500
7. Hardwood Publishing Company, Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.), $87,864
8. Limestone Bluffs RC&D Area, Inc. (Maquoketa, Iowa), $30,000
9. Maumee Valley Resource Conservation and Development (Defiance, Ohio), $179,921
10. Minnesota Wood Campaign, Inc. (Deer River, Minn.), $149,350
11. Mississippi State University (Mississippi State, Miss.), $106,125
12. North Carolina State University, Department of Wood and Paper Science (Raleigh, N.C.), $15,500
13. North Carolina State University, Department of Wood and Paper Science, $27,910
14. North Carolina State University, Department of Wood and Paper Science, $28,450
15. Northwest-Shoals Community College (Phil Campbell, Ala.), $100,000
16. Ozark Foothills RC&D Project Council, Inc. (Newport, Ark.), $22,860
17. Pallet and Container Corporation of America (Toledo, Ohio), $130,000
18. Pennsylvania State University (University Park, Pa.), $50,000
19. Purdue University (West Lafayette, Ind.), $200,000
20. South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Columbia, S.C.), $56,300
22. State University of New York (Syracuse, N.Y.), $100,523
23. The Ohio State University Research Foundation (Piketon, Ohio), $71,446
24. University of Delaware (Georgetown, Del.), $20,300
25. University of Minnesota (Duluth, Minn.), $90,248
26. University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.), $84,525
27. University of Wisconsin (Stevens Point, Wisc.), $43,804
28. University of Wisconsin (Madison, Wisc.), $48,350
29. Virginia Tech, Department of Wood Science and Forest Products (Blacksburg, Va.), $9,000
30. Virginia Tech, Bradley Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, $13,148
31. Virginia Tech, Department of Wood Science & Forest Products, $25,500
32. Virginia Tech, Wood Science and Forest Products, $46,177
33. Virginia Tech, Department of Wood Science & Forest Products, $47,108
34. Virginia Tech, Department of Wood Science & Forest Products, $51,383
35. Virginia Tech, Department of Wood Science & Forest Products, $52,189
36. Virginia Tech, Sloan Foundation Forest Industries Center, $179,378
37. Watershed Agricultural Council (Walton, N.Y.), $42,000
38. West Virginia University Research Corporation, Division of Forestry (Morgantown, W.V.), $15,000
39. West Virginia University Research Corporation, Division of Forestry, $21,875
40. West Virginia University Research Corporation, Division of Forestry, $73,230
41. West Virginia University Research Corporation, Division of Forestry, $85,960
Total: $2,881,887
The funds are provided by the Forest Service's Wood Education and Resource Center (Princeton, WV), which is administered by the agency's State and Private Forestry Northeastern Area Office. The center's mission is to work with the forest products industry toward sustainable forest products production for the eastern hardwood forest region. It provides state-of-the-art training, technology transfer, networking opportunities, applied research and information. For more information, visit www.na.fs.fed.us/ea/werc/werc.shtm.
