BOZEMAN, Mont., January
11, 2017 – The U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest nearly $32 million this year to
mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality and restore healthy forest
ecosystems in 24 states and Puerto Rico. More than $690,000 of that
funding will support the Capital 360 forestry project in Montana.
Since 2013, USDA has invested
$176 million in 56 Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership projects,
which focus on areas where public forests and grasslands intersect with
privately-owned lands.
"Through Joint Chiefs,
the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) works with agricultural
producers and forest landowners to improve forest health using available Farm
Bill conservation programs, and the Forest Service enhances forest health on
public lands -- stitching together a larger footprint of healthy ecosystems in
priority areas," said Tom Hedt, NRCS acting state conservationist in
Montana
Along with mitigating fire
risk, Joint Chiefs’ projects work to improve water quality by restoring healthy
forests and grasslands.
In Montana, the funding will
support the Capital 360 project in the Helena-Lewis & Clark National
Forest. The Capital 360 effort builds on prior successful, smaller-scale fuels
reduction projects to improve forest health in the Upper Tenmile Creek
watershed and portions of the Prickly Pear, which supply water to Helena and
East Helena.
Private woodland owners in
these project areas may be eligible for financial assistance from the NRCS to
perform forest conservation practices on their land. Contact a local USDA
Service Center to learn more.