January 3, 2025

On December 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched a new program to support wood processing facilities and help increase resilience to the impacts of climate change. USDA’s Rural Development agency is partnering with the USDA Forest Service to provide funding through the new Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program (TPEP). The Program will support the processing and utilization of wood products from USDA National Forest System land, including Tribal forest and rangeland, to improve forest health and reduce risk posed by wildfires, insects, and disease and the detrimental impacts they have on communities and critical infrastructure. Through TPEP, USDA will make over $200 million available in loan guarantees for borrowers to establish, reopen, retrofit, expand, or improve wood processing facilities, sawmills and paper mills. These facilities must utilize restoration byproducts from federal or Tribal lands.

Eligible lands must be classified by the USDA Forest Service as high or very high priority for ecological restoration involving vegetation removal; must procure a significant amount of raw materials from federal or Tribal lands; and be within 250 miles of the designated high or very high priority area. High and very high priority designated lands can be found using the TPEP Priorities Areas dashboard.

The percentage of loan guarantee is 90% and lenders must first be approved by USDA Rural Development. There is no minimum loan amount, and the maximum loan amount is $25 million. There is no cost sharing requirement and applications will be accepted until funds are exhausted.

In preparation, USDA has announced it will be hosting a webinar for potential applicants to the TPEP. This webinar will provide an overview of TPEP, the newest resource guide for the timber and wood industries, and will have program experts from USDA Rural Development and the USDA Forest Service on hand to answer questions about the Program.

Details regarding this webinar are as follows:

• Date/Time: January 6, 2025 at 2:00pm ET
• Register Here

For more information, please contact Leigh Mitchell, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at lmitchell@usetinc.org.

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Established in 1969, the United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc. (USET) is a non-profit, inter-Tribal organization serving thirty-three (33) federally recognized Tribal Nations from the Northeastern Woodlands to the Everglades and across the Gulf of Mexico. USET is dedicated to enhancing the development of Tribal Nations, improving the capabilities of Tribal governments, and improving the quality of life for Indian people through a variety of technical and supportive programmatic services.

Established in 2014, the USET Sovereignty Protection Fund (USET SPF) is a non-profit, inter-Tribal organization advocating on behalf of thirty-three (33) federally recognized Tribal Nations from the Northeastern Woodlands to the Everglades and across the Gulf of Mexico. USET SPF is dedicated to promoting, protecting, and advancing the inherent sovereign rights and authorities of Tribal Nations and in assisting its membership in dealing effectively with public policy issues.