The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS), part of the USDA, has announced a funding opportunity under the Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program for 2024. This program will help lenders provide loans to entities looking to build or improve sawmills and wood processing facilities near priority U.S. Forest Service lands. Over $200 million will be available starting in 2025, funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The goal is to support ecological restoration efforts by using byproducts from these projects and to advance rural economic opportunities, while prioritizing climate change mitigation and racial equity.
Simple Explanation
The government is offering money to help people fix or build places that turn trees into things near important forests, and they want to make sure it's good for nature and helps all kinds of people. They're making sure the rules are clear so everyone knows who can get this help and how to ask for it.