US Endowment for Forestry and Communities

08/07/2026

A new film is helping students and educators explore how generations of knowledge and care shape the future of working forests. 🌳

Forests of the First Stewards: Menominee Nation shares the inspiring story of the Menominee Nation and its longstanding approach to forest stewardship that includes both ancient traditions and modern-day forest management.

Created by the Society of American Foresters and its forestproud program, in partnership with Menominee Tribal Enterprises and Discover Mediaworks, the film is part of an educational series with a companion curriculum for K–12 and higher education.

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities is honored to support this project and help bring these important lessons to more classrooms and communities.

Watch now to discover the inspiring story of the Menominee Nation and their approach to sustainable forestry: https://heyor.ca/X8o3GO

The project was also made possible by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Intertribal Timber Council and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

08/05/2026

Mother Nature can be unpredictable.

So, how do we test building materials to better understand how they'll perform when weather puts them to the test?

Inside the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory’s CARWASH facility (short for Chamber for Analytic Research on Wall Assemblies exposed to Simulated Weather) full-sized wall systems face wind, rain and heat designed to replicate real-world conditions.

This video series, co-funded by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities and the Forest Products Laboratory, brings greater visibility to the research and people advancing new possibilities for wood-based construction.

07/31/2026

What role can working forests play in meeting the demands of the digital economy while creating value for rural communities?

This question helped shape a recent roundtable hosted by the Business Council for Sustainable Energy's American Energy Abundance Alliance.

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities President and CEO Pete Madden joined leaders from across the energy and data center sectors to discuss emerging technologies and community engagement.

Thanks to the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, Fordwell Strategies and Tuli Public Affairs for creating space for this conversation, and for the opportunity to give rural forest communities a voice as data center demand continues to grow.

07/29/2026

Forest owners. Rural communities. Sawmills. Loggers and truckers.
What do they have in common? They depend on strong forest products markets.

Each year, over 56 million bone-dry tons of wood fiber go unused across the United States. When markets for this material weaken, forest management slows, mills and supporting businesses lose stability, and rural communities lose jobs and tax revenue.

Today, the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities released the Markets Matter Action Plan, a coordinated framework for strengthening markets for small-diameter and residual wood fiber. The plan, a result of the Markets Matter Convening held in May 2026, serves as a guide for organizations, policymakers, companies, investors and individuals working to strengthen forest health and rural economic vitality.

The Action Plan identifies three priority actions:
1. Advance enabling policy.
2. Identify and mobilize capital.
3. Turn forest resilience into an investment opportunity.

The plan also provides a roadmap and public scorecard to move this work from recommendations to measurable progress.

Read the Action Plan and get involved here: https://heyor.ca/d14B4Q

Working forests depend on working markets. 🌲

U.S. Forest Service Society of American Foresters

07/22/2026

We're proud to share that the 2025 United States Biochar Market Report is now available! Spoiler alert: the industry's economic value has tripled since 2023. 🤯

Free to access, the most comprehensive self-reported snapshot of the United States biochar industry benchmarks production, revenue, and sector expansion.

Highlights include:

📊 Estimated U.S. biochar production grew at a 32% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), increasing from 86,893 metric tonnes in 2023 to 151,329 metric tonnes in 2025.
📈 The estimated economic value of the U.S. biochar industry grew even more rapidly, increasing at a 71% CAGR from $53.6 million in 2023 to approximately $157 million in 2025.
🔍 Carbon finance is becoming a major revenue source for many producers
🚜 Agricultural uses remain the largest market for biochar

For more details on the 2025 Global Biochar Industry Survey and the report join us tomorrow, July 8 at 11am EDT, for a joint webinar with International Biochar Initiative and researchers from the University of Oxford's State of Carbon Dioxide Removal project.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey and shaped this industry snapshot.

Access the report at this link: https://biochar.org/document/2025-united-states-biochar-market-report/
Register for the webinar: https://biochar-international.org/event/three-reports-one-survey-the-state-of-biochar-in-2025/

07/14/2026

As we close out the first half of 2026, check out the July issue of News Wrap for updates from the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities!

This issue highlights the latest news about the Endowment and our partners — including work to advance forest markets, strengthen rural communities and support innovation across the forest sector. Catch up on key announcements, partnerships and progress.

Read the full newsletter here: https://heyor.ca/1s052H

07/09/2026

Congratulations to GranBio on Amazon’s recent investment to help advance technologies that turn forestry residues and construction debris into advanced aviation fuel.

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities was proud to provide early financial support through a 2015 program-related investment in AVAPCO LLC, a Georgia-based subsidiary of GranBio.

This milestone reflects the kind of forest innovation that creates new uses for low-value wood, strengthens forest product markets and opens new opportunities for rural, forest-reliant communities.

Read more here: https://heyor.ca/gdHo2j

07/06/2026

How do wood products perform when exposed to fire?

At the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory, the Fire Lab helps answer this question through hands-on testing and research. The Fire Testing team’s work supports a deeper understanding of fire safety, material performance and building durability while helping inform how wood products are used safely and effectively in construction.

Through a video series co-funded by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities and the Forest Products Laboratory, we’re proud to help bring broader awareness to the research, facilities and people advancing new possibilities for wood and fiber products.

07/02/2026

This helpful new guidebook from the American Biochar Institute and Center for Watershed Protection explores the use of biochar in stormwater management. Tools like this help expand practical uses for forest-based materials while supporting healthier watersheds, working forests and the communities connected to them.

No comprehensive playbook for integrating biochar into urban stormwater infrastructure exists – until now.

The Center for Watershed Protection (CWP), in partnership with the American Biochar Institute (ABI) and Infinite Solutions is excited to announce the release of the Biochar in Stormwater Best Management Practices Guidebook for Stormwater Practitioners (version 1.0).

Biochar can be incorporated into stormwater best management practices (BMPs), to improve infiltration, water holding capacity, plant survivability, and pollutant removal. Plus, it is a media component that can improve BMP performance without significantly increasing costs.

This new free resource includes a 63-page guidebook and accompanying materials to provide stormwater practitioners with resources and decision support tools to select biochar, and incorporate it into eight common stormwater BMPs.

🌟 Whether you’re looking for the entire guidebook and resources, or you’d like to access just one of the design specifications, you can download the materials at:
https://biochar.org/resource-library/stormwater-bmp-project/

06/22/2026

Congratulations to our President and CEO, Pete Madden, on completing Sustain SC’s Sustainability Leadership Initiative (SLI) program.

This experience brought together leaders from across sectors to explore how business and community well-being can work together to create lasting value.

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities’ mission is to strengthen and sustain healthy forest product markets while supporting working forests and the communities that rely on them. Programs like this help build the relationships and shared understanding needed to move that mission forward.

Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities Sustain SC