The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities on Nov. 22 released a new request for proposals for the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund. Up to $500,000 is available for 2020 grants to protect bottomland hardwood and other wetland forests in northeast North Carolina and southeast Virginia.

This is the fifth cycle of a $5 million, 10-year program launched by Enviva Holdings LP and the Endowment in 2015. Not-for-profit organizations, government agencies and tribes are eligible to apply for grants. The deadline for proposals is Jan. 24, 2020. The RFP and additional materials are available on the Endowment’s website and at http://envivaforestfund.org/matching-fund-grants/.

“The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund continues to support the protection of bottomland hardwoods and wetland forests that are critical to supporting biodiversity, community resiliency, outdoor recreation, and clean water within Virginia and North Carolina. Unfortunately, bottomland hardwood forests are continuously threatened by land conversion, altered hydrology, invasive species, and the impact of climate change. The intentionality of the Fund seeks to find landscapes that will contribute to the health of cohesive ecosystems including the neighboring communities,” said Carlton Owen, president and CEO of the Endowment.

Since its inception in 2015, the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund has supported a total of 17 projects with over $2.0 million dollars invested. Once completed, these projects will protect approximately 24,000 acres across North Carolina and Virginia. These protected forests help provide a clean drinking water source, act as a buffer to infrastructure during storms, and provide critical habitats for many species of wildlife, while at the same time providing jobs and economic opportunity for rural families and private landowners.

“Four years into this very important initiative, we are happy to have helped conserve over 15,000 acres of bottomland hardwood forests, and we’re on track to meeting the 35,000-acre goal we established at the start of the program,” said Jennifer Jenkins, vice president and chief sustainability officer at Enviva. “Southern bottomland hardwoods and wetland forests not only protect wildlife and water quality, they are a critical component to the fight against climate change and it’s rewarding to know that we’re doing our part to help preserve special places in the woods that should remain so.”