Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program

Congress, under Title IV of Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (PDF, 40 KB), established the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP).

The purpose of the CFLR Program is to encourage the collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of priority forest landscapes.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack articulated his vision for America’s Forests in a speech given in Seattle in August 2009. The Secretary underscored the overriding importance of forest restoration by calling for “complete commitment to restoration”. In this same speech, the Secretary highlighted the need for pursuing an “all lands approach to forest restoration” and called for close coordination with other landowners to encourage collaborative solutions through landscape-scale operations. The CFLR Program provides a means to achieve these aims and to also:

• encourage ecological, economic, and social sustainability;
• leverage local resources with national and private resources;
• facilitate the reduction of wildfire management costs, including through reestablishing natural fire regimes and reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire;
• demonstrate the degree to which various ecological restoration techniques achieve ecological and watershed health objectives; and,
• encourage utilization of forest restoration by-products to offset treatment costs, to benefit local rural economies, to and improve forest health.

Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund

Title IV establishes the CFLR Fund providing funding authority for:

• requests by the Secretary of up to $40,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2009 through 2019;
• up to 50 percent of the cost of carrying out and monitoring ecological restoration treatments on National Forest System (NFS) land for each proposal selected;
• up to $4 million annually for any one project;
• up to two projects per year in any one FS region; and,
• up to 10 projects per year nationally.

Uses and Limitations of the CFLR Fund

• The CFLR Fund may only be used on National Forest System lands.
• The CFLR Fund may not be used to cover planning costs.
• The CFLR Fund may be used to pay for up to 50 percent of the cost of carrying out and monitoring ecological restoration treatments on National Forest System (NFS) lands.
• No more than $4,000,000 may be spent from the CFLR Fund in any 1 fiscal year on any 1 project.
• The CFLR Fund may include cancellation and termination costs that may be required under the FAR for contracts used to carry out ecological restoration treatments on National Forest System land.
• The CFLR Fund for any 1 proposal may be expended for no more than 10 fiscal years.

CFLR Proposal Development Process

To be considered for the use of the CFLR Fund, project proposals must meet eligibility criteria set forth in Title IV and must be nominated by the Regional Forester for consideration by the Secretary. The diagram below illustrates the key steps in the proposal development and selection process.

(PDF, 159 KB)

After a project is selected, the Act requires the development of a work plan, tracking of accomplishments and expenditures from the CFLR Fund over the life of the project, and periodic reporting and multi-party monitoring requirements.