USDA Announces an Additional $10 Million Investment in Forest Nursery and Native Seed Partnerships

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday (2-24-23) announced that nearly $10 million is being invested in forest nursery and native seed partnerships, with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Of the total funding, $4.5 million is being invested in 29 facilities from states, US Island territories, and commonwealths to modernize forest nurseries. Another $5.3 million will help increase native seed collection and native plant availability to restore and support resilient ecosystems on national forests and grasslands.

These new investments will help build capacity across public and private lands to meet mounting reforestation demands and compliment the recently announced $35 million investment Forest Service nurseries in support of the National Forest System Reforestation Strategies. Friday’s announcement is another step in the USDA Forest Service efforts to protect and restore national forests and grasslands I the face of historic challenges.

According to The Nature Conservancy’s Reforestation Hub, it is estimated that up to 146 million acres of land in the US could benefit from reforestation. This translates to a need for more than 75 billion trees. At the current level of production—about 1.4 billion annually—it would take more than 50 years for the nurseries to meet that need.