SALEM — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is accepting applications for up to $10 million in grants to improve habitat for at-risk fish and amphibians on private forestland.

The funding is part of the Private Forest Accord, a landmark compromise between environmental groups and timber companies to modify logging practices in a way that better protects aquatic species, including salmon, bull trout, frogs and salamanders. 

State lawmakers passed a trio of bills in 2022 enshrining the agreement, and also created the Private Forest Accord Grant Program administered by ODFW.

The grant program supports projects to benefit at least one of 33 listed species that may be covered by a future Habitat Conservation Plan on private forests.

A Habitat Conservation Plan, or HCP, is a deal between the federal government and state Department of Forestry that would shield landowners from liability under the Endangered Species Act when harvesting trees, so long as forests are managed to mitigate potential harm to species.

The Private Forest Accord sets the stage for a possible HCP in the coming years. Eleven timber companies and the Oregon Small Woodlands Association signed on to the accord, believing it will provide greater regulatory certainty and reduce the likelihood of lawsuits over logging.

In turn, the Private Forest Accord Grant Program was established to assist forestland owners working to adopt these new management standards.

Eligible projects include restoring or enhancing habitat; removing fish passage barriers; treating invasive species; thinning riparian areas to improve wildfire resiliency; and building fencing to keep livestock out of streams and rivers, among others. 

“It’s a restoration-based program,” said Andy Spyrka, program coordinator for ODFW. “Really, it’s about promoting habitat restoration of those covered species.” 

An application period for the first round of program funding opened Nov. 6 and ends Dec. 31.

Spyrka said they hope to offer up to $10 million this round, which will increase to $15 million in future years — with $10 million coming from the state and $5 million collected from an annual harvest tax on timber producers. 

Local governments, federal agencies, state agencies, tribes, timber companies, watershed councils, soil and water conservation districts, colleges and nonprofit organizations are all eligible to apply for Private Forest Accord grants.

Individual landowners are not eligible to apply on their own, but may partner with an eligible applicant.

Chad Washington, manager of U.S. sustainability for the Timberland Group with Nuveen Natural Capital, a private equity firm that specializes in farmland and timberland, said the grant program is “an important complement” to the Private Forest Accord.

“Native trout and salmon recovery efforts are important to all Oregonians,” said Washington, who serves as chairman of the grant program’s advisory committee. “We’re proud to help support projects that benefit these species not only on private forestland but across the state.”

For more information about the program and to apply, visit www.dfw.state.or.us/habitat/PFA.